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Groups Sue to Block Giant Westlands Backroom Water Deal
“The Winnemem Wintu, a traditional people of California, see the folly of the government’s plans relative to the Delta and pray for people of reason to wake up and help protect the estuary from over pumping and the damage these plans will wreak upon the water and resources of this state,” stated Mark Franco, Headman Winnemem Wintu Tribe. “Water is the lifeblood of our people and we stand ready to protect it with our colleagues across California’s social justice movement. This rash plan will only serve a few people and will impact the rights of our future generations.”
Press Release
GROUPS SUE TO BLOCK GIANT BACKROOM WATER DEAL
Three months after the State Senator Steinberg’s so-called “historic” delta protection legislation was approved the state’s agribusiness industry is quietly securing secret state and federal sign offs to authorize water exporters to damage the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta for decades to come. North Coast Rivers Alliance and three other groups filed suit today to guarantee the public gets full public disclosure and environmental review of those water contract decisions.
A couple days before Christmas when Westlands Water District thought no one would notice the giant district issued a three paragraph notice that quietly declared the renewal of six water export contracts valid and harmless to the Delta and environment. The Steinberg state legislation was supposed to protect the Delta, but it didn’t; actually it “woke up” fishermen’s and conservation groups to the fact that these giant water export contracts were being quietly renewed without any public review or disclosure.
Incredibly, Westlands had announced that the renewal of over a million acre feet of Northern California water export wouldn’t require any environmental disclosure of the impacts of those contracts on Delta fish and wildlife. This occurred at the very time numerous federal and state agencies have become increasingly concerned about the harm these export contracts were having on the largest wetland habitat in the western United States.
“With little or no review Westlands Water District wants the federal government to sign off on these destructive water exports,” stated Steve Evans Conservation Director for Friends of the River. “They are slipping this by trying to avoid responsibility for reducing damage to the Delta.”
“These massive commitments of water to less than 600 corporate agricultural users are a direct threat to the Delta and to the Trinity River, which is the source of the water,” declared Frank Egger, President North Coast Rivers Alliance. “We need to be vigilant and make sure that the fortunes of Westlands corporate famers are not made at the expense of the North Coast and California’s salmon fishing industry.”
“The Winnemem Wintu, a traditional people of California, see the folly of the government’s plans relative to the Delta and pray for people of reason to wake up and help protect the estuary from over pumping and the damage these plans will wreak upon the water and resources of this state,” stated Mark Franco, Headman Winnemem Wintu Tribe. “Water is the lifeblood of our people and we stand ready to protect it with our colleagues across California’s social justice movement. This rash plan will only serve a few people and will impact the rights of our future generations.”
Westlands Water District is trying to lock up over a million acre feet of water a year in exports from the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta. The federal agricultural contracts represent almost three times the Delta water that goes to southern California urban areas receive under state contracts. The water is diverted from the Trinity River into the Sacramento River, and then exported from the Delta. Westlands seeks to avoid any public disclosure or environmental review of the impacts to the Delta, Sacramento, San Joaquin, American and Trinity Rivers was provided.
Typically this environmental analysis must be done by independent scientists that take into account public disclosure of all the environmental impacts, but in this case the district approved their own documents and, no surprise, concluded there was no environmental impact involved with over a million acre feet of Delta water exports. Irrigation of these lands on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley has been linked to selenium caused bird deaths and deformities at the now closed Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge.
“Massive exports that irrigate these selenium lands move pollution down slope to the San Joaquin River and the Delta,” stated Felix Smith spokesperson for Save the American River Association. “Water supplies from the American and Sacramento Rivers are going to be left on the hook to dilute the pollution. It won’t work. It could kill migratory birds and fish in the Delta just as they were killed at Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge.”
Today, North Coast Rivers Alliance, Friends of the River, Save the American River and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe filed suit in Fresno Superior Court demanding full public disclosure of the impacts of Westlands Water District’s exaggerated water export contract renewals with the Bureau of Reclamation. The groups filing the lawsuit want full disclosure under the California Environmental Quality Act of the pollution and potential environmental harm from locking in such massive water exports from the Delta estuary which provides migration corridors for two-thirds of the state’s salmon and nearly half of the waterfowl and shorebirds along the Pacific Flyway
“All scientists agree that the Delta is now on the brink of ecologic collapse. Renewing these contracts for one-fifth of the Delta’s exports without required environmental review is like nailing your gas pedal to the floor as you approach a hairpin turn. This suit asks the Court to slam on the brakes before Westlands drives the Delta over the cliff,” commented Stephan Volker, attorney for the plaintiffs.
For Additional Information Contact:
Frank Egger, President
North Coast Rivers Alliance
Phone: 415-456-6356
Steven L. Evans, Conservation Director
Friends of the River
(916) 442-3155, Ext. 221
Save the American River
Felix Smith
(916) 966-2081
Caleen Sisk-Franco, Chief
Mark Franco, Headman
Winnemem Wintu
(530) 275-2737
Stephan C. Volker
Law Offices of Stephan C. Volker
(510)496-0600
GROUPS SUE TO BLOCK GIANT BACKROOM WATER DEAL
Three months after the State Senator Steinberg’s so-called “historic” delta protection legislation was approved the state’s agribusiness industry is quietly securing secret state and federal sign offs to authorize water exporters to damage the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta for decades to come. North Coast Rivers Alliance and three other groups filed suit today to guarantee the public gets full public disclosure and environmental review of those water contract decisions.
A couple days before Christmas when Westlands Water District thought no one would notice the giant district issued a three paragraph notice that quietly declared the renewal of six water export contracts valid and harmless to the Delta and environment. The Steinberg state legislation was supposed to protect the Delta, but it didn’t; actually it “woke up” fishermen’s and conservation groups to the fact that these giant water export contracts were being quietly renewed without any public review or disclosure.
Incredibly, Westlands had announced that the renewal of over a million acre feet of Northern California water export wouldn’t require any environmental disclosure of the impacts of those contracts on Delta fish and wildlife. This occurred at the very time numerous federal and state agencies have become increasingly concerned about the harm these export contracts were having on the largest wetland habitat in the western United States.
“With little or no review Westlands Water District wants the federal government to sign off on these destructive water exports,” stated Steve Evans Conservation Director for Friends of the River. “They are slipping this by trying to avoid responsibility for reducing damage to the Delta.”
“These massive commitments of water to less than 600 corporate agricultural users are a direct threat to the Delta and to the Trinity River, which is the source of the water,” declared Frank Egger, President North Coast Rivers Alliance. “We need to be vigilant and make sure that the fortunes of Westlands corporate famers are not made at the expense of the North Coast and California’s salmon fishing industry.”
“The Winnemem Wintu, a traditional people of California, see the folly of the government’s plans relative to the Delta and pray for people of reason to wake up and help protect the estuary from over pumping and the damage these plans will wreak upon the water and resources of this state,” stated Mark Franco, Headman Winnemem Wintu Tribe. “Water is the lifeblood of our people and we stand ready to protect it with our colleagues across California’s social justice movement. This rash plan will only serve a few people and will impact the rights of our future generations.”
Westlands Water District is trying to lock up over a million acre feet of water a year in exports from the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta. The federal agricultural contracts represent almost three times the Delta water that goes to southern California urban areas receive under state contracts. The water is diverted from the Trinity River into the Sacramento River, and then exported from the Delta. Westlands seeks to avoid any public disclosure or environmental review of the impacts to the Delta, Sacramento, San Joaquin, American and Trinity Rivers was provided.
Typically this environmental analysis must be done by independent scientists that take into account public disclosure of all the environmental impacts, but in this case the district approved their own documents and, no surprise, concluded there was no environmental impact involved with over a million acre feet of Delta water exports. Irrigation of these lands on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley has been linked to selenium caused bird deaths and deformities at the now closed Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge.
“Massive exports that irrigate these selenium lands move pollution down slope to the San Joaquin River and the Delta,” stated Felix Smith spokesperson for Save the American River Association. “Water supplies from the American and Sacramento Rivers are going to be left on the hook to dilute the pollution. It won’t work. It could kill migratory birds and fish in the Delta just as they were killed at Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge.”
Today, North Coast Rivers Alliance, Friends of the River, Save the American River and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe filed suit in Fresno Superior Court demanding full public disclosure of the impacts of Westlands Water District’s exaggerated water export contract renewals with the Bureau of Reclamation. The groups filing the lawsuit want full disclosure under the California Environmental Quality Act of the pollution and potential environmental harm from locking in such massive water exports from the Delta estuary which provides migration corridors for two-thirds of the state’s salmon and nearly half of the waterfowl and shorebirds along the Pacific Flyway
“All scientists agree that the Delta is now on the brink of ecologic collapse. Renewing these contracts for one-fifth of the Delta’s exports without required environmental review is like nailing your gas pedal to the floor as you approach a hairpin turn. This suit asks the Court to slam on the brakes before Westlands drives the Delta over the cliff,” commented Stephan Volker, attorney for the plaintiffs.
For Additional Information Contact:
Frank Egger, President
North Coast Rivers Alliance
Phone: 415-456-6356
Steven L. Evans, Conservation Director
Friends of the River
(916) 442-3155, Ext. 221
Save the American River
Felix Smith
(916) 966-2081
Caleen Sisk-Franco, Chief
Mark Franco, Headman
Winnemem Wintu
(530) 275-2737
Stephan C. Volker
Law Offices of Stephan C. Volker
(510)496-0600
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Secret water diversion. http://www.myspace.com/marlalk4
For more information:
http://www.myspace.com/marlalk4
From above article;
“Massive exports that irrigate these selenium lands move pollution down slope to the San Joaquin River and the Delta,” stated Felix Smith spokesperson for Save the American River Association.
For every year the irrigation of Westlands district soils continues, that much more selenium will build up in their soils, and the longer it will take to restore the lands to where anything will grow in them.
Would be interested to discover the comparisons with land retired with claims of "pumping restrictions" compared to lands retired in actuallity because of excessive amouts of selenium making growing conditions nearly impossible.
From C-WIN;
"When Congress reauthorizes the San Luis Act of 1960, the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) urges Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Representative Grace Napolitano (D-CA) to reallocate contaminated irrigation water from 379,000 acres of drainage impaired lands in the San Joaquin Valley to salmon fishery and river restoration projects throughout California’s Central Valley. Retiring these lands could free up at least 600,000 acre-feet of water for restoration projects throughout the Central Valley and Trinity River.
“Time is of the essence to implement these ideas,” said C-WIN President Carolee Krieger. The San Luis Act originally authorized use of irrigation water on Westlands Water District soils that leached salts and selenium causing pollution of the San Joaquin River and embryonic defects in bird populations in the 1980s. Hundreds of thousands of acres of once productive cropland are now impaired and must be cleaned up. “This travesty of wasteful water use has gone on way too long. Congress must stop it and divert the water to ecological and fisheries restoration. “Otherwise, it could be too late for endangered species like salmon and the communities up and down California that rely on them,” Krieger added.
"
C-WIN conclusion;
"Impaired lands in the western San Joaquin Valley currently face high water tables and water quality contamination from salinity and selenium, which occur naturally in local soils. The contaminated water plaguing these lands comes from intensive irrigation of lands upslope in the western San Joaquin Valley. As the irrigation water drains off, contaminants flow to the lower, compromised lands, and eventually reaches the San Joaquin River, one of the most polluted rivers in the continental U.S., and contributes significantly to deterioration of water quality in the Bay-Delta estuary, a source of fresh water to 22 million Californians.
C-WIN believes that ceasing irrigation of Westlands’ 379,000 acres is the only cost effective and technologically feasible long term solution."
http://www.c-win.org/congresswwd.html
Other options for Westlands?
Before the agribusiness interests start hollering about "lost land", we should remind them that several centuries ago the San Joaquin Valley did have plenty of natural growth from drought tolerant indigenous plants and several species of mammals that survived on these hardy drought resistant plants and native grasses..
Tule elk, pronghorn and jackrabbits would all return to this Westlands region in growing numbers following successful restoration of the ecosystem. For hunters and followers of indigenous cultures, we know that these species are highly nutritious sources of food that require little or no external inputs (petrochemical derived fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and most of all; water imports) in order to survive. Nor are these native herbivores cruelly trapped in small cages as are our factory farmed domesticates (cattle, pig, chicken, etc...) They are free to roam the desert grasslands and scrublands of the San Joaquin Valley until they meet their demise from either predation (coyotes, humans, owls, etc...) or old age.
So restoration of selenium damaged Westlands soils to native desert grasslands and scrublands would not be "losing land", especially from the perspective of the rabbits and elk who would ba having their original homes finally returned to them!!
"Native grasslands supported several herbivores including pronghorn antelope (Antilocarpa americana), elk (including a valley subspecies, the Tule Elk, (Cervus elaphus nannodes), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), California ground squirrels, gophers, mice, hare, rabbits, and kangaroo rats. Several rodents are endemics or near-endemics to southern valley habitats including the Fresno kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides exilis), Tipton kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides nitratoides), San Joaquin pocket mouse (Perognathus inornatus), and giant kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ingens). Predators once included grizzly bear, gray wolf, coyote, mountain lion, ringtail, bobcat, and the San Joaquin Valley kit fox (Vulpes velox), another southern valley-foothill endemic."
more on valley grasslands;
http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/na0801_full.html
Everything comes with a price, and the profits reaped by Westlands agribusiness interests over the last several decades of intensive irrigation and petrochemical farming comes at the expense of native ecosystems and the many species that once inhabited them. Their profit driven days of plantation style agribusiness is coming to an end, and they seem determined to drag down entire ecosystems with them!
There is something to be said about evolution and who is considered a "success story" according to the "survival of the fittest" concept, and now we need to include the requirement of "does NOT foul our own collective nest" to denote an evolutionary success story. If that new requirement were included in the "Social Darwinist's" view of a success (usually capitalist profiteers), then Westlands district agribusiness interests would fail the test and ensure their own extinction. Problem is that their actions are dragging a whole lot of other species (including some of our own!!) right down the path of extinction with them!!
Retired and restored land is never "lost", especially when restoration will regain habitat for so many native grassland species!!
“Massive exports that irrigate these selenium lands move pollution down slope to the San Joaquin River and the Delta,” stated Felix Smith spokesperson for Save the American River Association.
For every year the irrigation of Westlands district soils continues, that much more selenium will build up in their soils, and the longer it will take to restore the lands to where anything will grow in them.
Would be interested to discover the comparisons with land retired with claims of "pumping restrictions" compared to lands retired in actuallity because of excessive amouts of selenium making growing conditions nearly impossible.
From C-WIN;
"When Congress reauthorizes the San Luis Act of 1960, the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) urges Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Representative Grace Napolitano (D-CA) to reallocate contaminated irrigation water from 379,000 acres of drainage impaired lands in the San Joaquin Valley to salmon fishery and river restoration projects throughout California’s Central Valley. Retiring these lands could free up at least 600,000 acre-feet of water for restoration projects throughout the Central Valley and Trinity River.
“Time is of the essence to implement these ideas,” said C-WIN President Carolee Krieger. The San Luis Act originally authorized use of irrigation water on Westlands Water District soils that leached salts and selenium causing pollution of the San Joaquin River and embryonic defects in bird populations in the 1980s. Hundreds of thousands of acres of once productive cropland are now impaired and must be cleaned up. “This travesty of wasteful water use has gone on way too long. Congress must stop it and divert the water to ecological and fisheries restoration. “Otherwise, it could be too late for endangered species like salmon and the communities up and down California that rely on them,” Krieger added.
"
C-WIN conclusion;
"Impaired lands in the western San Joaquin Valley currently face high water tables and water quality contamination from salinity and selenium, which occur naturally in local soils. The contaminated water plaguing these lands comes from intensive irrigation of lands upslope in the western San Joaquin Valley. As the irrigation water drains off, contaminants flow to the lower, compromised lands, and eventually reaches the San Joaquin River, one of the most polluted rivers in the continental U.S., and contributes significantly to deterioration of water quality in the Bay-Delta estuary, a source of fresh water to 22 million Californians.
C-WIN believes that ceasing irrigation of Westlands’ 379,000 acres is the only cost effective and technologically feasible long term solution."
http://www.c-win.org/congresswwd.html
Other options for Westlands?
Before the agribusiness interests start hollering about "lost land", we should remind them that several centuries ago the San Joaquin Valley did have plenty of natural growth from drought tolerant indigenous plants and several species of mammals that survived on these hardy drought resistant plants and native grasses..
Tule elk, pronghorn and jackrabbits would all return to this Westlands region in growing numbers following successful restoration of the ecosystem. For hunters and followers of indigenous cultures, we know that these species are highly nutritious sources of food that require little or no external inputs (petrochemical derived fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and most of all; water imports) in order to survive. Nor are these native herbivores cruelly trapped in small cages as are our factory farmed domesticates (cattle, pig, chicken, etc...) They are free to roam the desert grasslands and scrublands of the San Joaquin Valley until they meet their demise from either predation (coyotes, humans, owls, etc...) or old age.
So restoration of selenium damaged Westlands soils to native desert grasslands and scrublands would not be "losing land", especially from the perspective of the rabbits and elk who would ba having their original homes finally returned to them!!
"Native grasslands supported several herbivores including pronghorn antelope (Antilocarpa americana), elk (including a valley subspecies, the Tule Elk, (Cervus elaphus nannodes), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), California ground squirrels, gophers, mice, hare, rabbits, and kangaroo rats. Several rodents are endemics or near-endemics to southern valley habitats including the Fresno kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides exilis), Tipton kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides nitratoides), San Joaquin pocket mouse (Perognathus inornatus), and giant kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ingens). Predators once included grizzly bear, gray wolf, coyote, mountain lion, ringtail, bobcat, and the San Joaquin Valley kit fox (Vulpes velox), another southern valley-foothill endemic."
more on valley grasslands;
http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/na0801_full.html
Everything comes with a price, and the profits reaped by Westlands agribusiness interests over the last several decades of intensive irrigation and petrochemical farming comes at the expense of native ecosystems and the many species that once inhabited them. Their profit driven days of plantation style agribusiness is coming to an end, and they seem determined to drag down entire ecosystems with them!
There is something to be said about evolution and who is considered a "success story" according to the "survival of the fittest" concept, and now we need to include the requirement of "does NOT foul our own collective nest" to denote an evolutionary success story. If that new requirement were included in the "Social Darwinist's" view of a success (usually capitalist profiteers), then Westlands district agribusiness interests would fail the test and ensure their own extinction. Problem is that their actions are dragging a whole lot of other species (including some of our own!!) right down the path of extinction with them!!
Retired and restored land is never "lost", especially when restoration will regain habitat for so many native grassland species!!
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