Nunes bill to remove Delta protections passes committee

Nunes bill to remove Delta protections passes committee

by Dan Bacher

The House Natural Resources Committee on Thursday approved H.R. 1837, a bill that would eliminate environmental protections for the Delta and Central Valley rivers, secure more water for corporate agribusiness on the San Joaquin Valley's west side and upend water rights in California.

Congressional Republicans and agribusiness interests celebrated the Committee's passage of the legislation as a "historic North-South compromise that will protect all users," while Northern California Congressional Democrats, Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and Delta advocates slammed the bill as a "job killer" and "water grab."

The bill's author, Congressman Devin Nunes (CA-21), claimed in a statement that the legislation, the "Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act," "will restore the flow of water to farms and rural communities, while protecting the property rights of all Californians. It will also make unnecessary the construction of a $12 billion peripheral canal to bypass the Bay-Delta."

“I commend the hard work of Chairman Doc Hastings, Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock, and Rep. Jeff Denham. Their efforts are greatly appreciated by the people who have suffered under government-imposed water shortages,” said Nunes.

“This action sends a strong message to the people of California that House Republicans are fighting to deliver water, jobs, and security to their communities. Our work today comes after years of negligence by Democratic super-majorities and is the first step in keeping our promise to Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley residents,” Nunes contended.

“This bill is a remarkable North-South compromise that will protect all water users. Those who continue to obstruct the bill are being exposed for their extreme views. This is particularly true of California’s Senators who have yet to offer any alternatives to H.R. 1837," Nunes claimed.

Following the markup of HR 1837 in the House Natural Resources Committee, Congressman John Garamendi (CA-10), a former Deputy Secretary of the Interior, blasted the bill's passage in a statement.

"HR 1837 turns upside down 150 years of California water law and the allocation of water," said Garamendi. "The bill removes all environmental protections for the Delta and Central Valley rivers while allowing destructive exports of water from the Delta to San Joaquin Valley water districts."

However, he noted that "one section of the bill, Title 4, has merit in that it affirms existing water rights and area of origin rights in Northern California. Unfortunately, this section was combined with too much bad policy for the bill to receive my support."

"The Committee refused to accept my amendment that would have authorized an expedited process to construct Sites Reservoir, a critical off-stream reservoir. Instead, a substitute amendment prohibits the Bureau of Reclamation from working with the Sites Project Joint Powers Authority, a regional consortium of local water agencies and counties united to develop the project," stated Garamendi.

"I will continue working with my colleagues at the federal, state, and local levels to craft a water policy that carries out the twin goals of California law, water reliability and ecosystem restoration," he concluded.

In a letter to the Committee on Natural Resources prior to the vote, Garamendi and Representatives Mike Thompson (CA-1), George Miller (CA-7), Doris Matsui (CA-5), Jerry McNerney (CA-11), Jackie Speier (CA-12), Mike Honda (CA-15) and Lynn Woolsey (CA-6) wrote that the bill "grossly dismisses the best available science, would cause job losses, repeals environmental protections, damages local tourism, hurts fishers and farmers, and should be rejected."

“This legislation is nothing more than an attempt by well-funded south-of-Delta water contractors to steal water from the North with no regard for the fishers, farmers, families and businesses who depend on the Delta for their livelihoods,” said Thompson. “This bill puts politics ahead of a half-century of established science, guts environmental protections and kills local jobs. It should be rejected, and solutions to California’s water challenges should be based on sound science so that our Delta communities, wildlife and environment are not harmed.”

“Last summer, we said that this bill would do serious damage to California’s water future," stated Miller. "Republicans took their extreme bill behind closed doors for the rest of the year, tinkered with it, and emerged with an equally radical and damaging bill. Their bill undermines water policy throughout the west, including state policy, federal policy, and court approved settlements."

Delta advocates were outraged by the passage of the bill through the Committee. "Congressman Devin Nunes and Congressman Jeff Denham will not be happy until they have grabbed each and every last drop of water from the Delta for their 1% corporate agribusiness masters," said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta. For more information, go to: http://www.restorethedelta.org.

The bill will next go to the Full House for a floor vote. If the House approves it, it will then will go to the Senate where it would face strong opposition, since both of California's Senators are opposed to the bill.

The legislation was passed as the Brown and Obama administrations are fast-tracking the construction of the peripheral canal through the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). The peripheral canal or tunnel is designed to facilitate increased exports of water from the Delta to corporate agribusiness and southern California.

The canal is likely to lead to the extinction of Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River chinook salmon, Delta and longfin smelt, Sacramento splittail, green sturgeon and southern resident killer whales, which feed on the salmon.