Groups Support Bill Calling For Public Vote On Delta Tunnels

Groups Support Bill Calling For Public Vote On Delta Tunnels

by Dan Bacher

The Assembly Committee for Water, Parks and Wildlife will meet at 1:30 pm today, April 19, in room 444 at the Capitol to consider Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman’s bill, AB 1713, calling for a public vote for the Delta tunnels.

They will also be considering Assemblymember Frazier’s bill, AB 2583, calling for an update to the Delta Reform Act, due to the California WaterFix not meeting the same criteria as was in the BDCP for habitat restoration, transparency, and financing, according to Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta.

You are encouraged to attend and express your support in the public comment period.

On April 13, fourteen fishery conservation and environmental groups sent a letter to Assemblymen Eggman in support of her bill. The letter said their concern goes beyond whether the Delta tunnels will be built or not, noting, “There is a clear and undeniable connection between the tunnels and proposed upstream surface storage projects.

Below is the text of the letter:

The Honorable Susan Talamantes Eggman

California State Assembly

State Capitol, Room 3173

Sacramento, California 95814

Re: AB 1713 (Eggman) Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta - SUPPORT

Dear Assemblymember Eggman:

“Our groups are pleased to strongly support Assembly Bill 1713 which prohibits the construction of the peripheral canal, twin tunnels, or other isolated conveyance project, to divert water directly from the Sacramento River to the State and Federal pumping facilities in the south Delta unless expressly authorized by an initiative approved by California voters. The bill also requires the Legislative Analyst's Office to complete an economic feasibility analysis prior to a vote.

As a controversial multi-billion dollar infrastructure project, the permitting process for the twin tunnels should be transparent. Accordingly, ultimate approval should rest with the ratepayers and taxpayers who may be required to pay for the project. In particular, the people most impacted by the twin tunnels project deserve the right to vote to approve or disapprove this project, which will do irreparable harm to the Delta and upstream tributaries to benefit one part of the state at the expense of another.

Our concern goes beyond whether the Delta tunnels will be built or not. There is a clear and undeniable connection between the tunnels and proposed upstream surface storage projects. For example, in its NODOS Highlights (May 2014), the California Department of Water Resources indicates that if the Delta tunnels are constructed, all water from the proposed Sites Reservoir allocated to maintain water quality in the Delta is sold to water contractors south of the Delta. This would be a disaster for the Delta ecosystem and its endangered fish species and for Delta farmers who depend on fresh water flowing through the estuary to irrigate their crops.

More than thirty years ago, voters had the opportunity to vote on peripheral canal and they should be given the same respect this time as well. For all of these reasons, we are pleased to support AB 1713. Thank you for your leadership and authorship of this legislation.

Sincerely

Eric Wesselman, Friends of the River

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Restore the Delta

Bill Jennings, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance

Jennifer Clary, Clean Water Action

Cecily Smith, Foothill Conservancy

Lowell Ashbaugh, Northern California Council of the International Federation of Fly Fishers

Carolee Krieger, California Water Impact Network (C-WIN)

Lucas Ray RossMerz, Sacramento River Preservation Trust

Amber Shelton, Environmental Protection Information Center

Lloyd Carter, CA Save Our Streams Council

Jonas Minton, Planning and Conservation League

Konrad Fisher, Klamath Riverkeeper

Dan Bacher Fish Sniffer magazine

Adam Scow, Food & Water Watch

For more information on AB 1713, go to: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/1/22/1473956/-Assemblymember-Eggman-introduces-bill-to-force-vote-on-Delta-Tunnels

For more information on today’s hearing, go to http://awpw.assembly.ca.gov/hearings