| Assemblymember Alyson Huber (D-El Dorado Hills) has reintroduced a bill, AB 1594, that would prevent construction of a peripheral canal around the California Delta without a full fiscal analysis and a vote of the legislature.
Huber's bill prohibits the construction of a peripheral canal - defined to include any facility or structure that conveys water directly from a diversion point in the Sacramento River to SWP or CVP pumping facilities south of the Delta - unless expressly authorized by the Legislature. It further requires the Legislative Analyst's Office to complete an economic feasibility analysis prior to the enactment of a statute authorizing the construction of a peripheral canal, according to Jane Wagner-Tyack, Policy Analyst for Restore the Delta.
The bill would also require that the construction and operation of a peripheral canal "not diminish or negatively affect the water supplies, water rights, or quality of water for water users within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed."
"Last November's water package completely omits legislative oversight, merely leaving it to the Delta Stewardship Council to decide whether the BDCP is consistent with the co-equal goals of water supply and ecosystem restoration for the Delta," said Wagner-Tyack.
Rollout of the bill is scheduled for Monday, April 26. The bill is scheduled to be heard by the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee on April 27.
The co-oauthors of the bill are Assembly Members Wesley Chesbro (D-Eureka), Paul Fong (D-Mountain View), Ted Gaines (R-Granite Bay), Tom Torlakson (D-Martinez), and Mariko Yamada (D-Davis).
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senator Diane Feinstein and Legislative Leaders are campaigning for the construction of a peripheral canal and new dams to facilitate increased water exports to corporate agribusiness and Southern California water agencies. Delta advocates fear that the canal, estimated to cost $23 to $53.8 billion, will push collapsing populations of Central Valley salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other species over the edge of extinction.
On November 9, 2009, Assemblymember Huber delivered to the Governor's office 2000 postcards from Delta residents who are opposed to Schwarzenegger's plan to build a peripheral canal.
"I have heard from my constituents - residents of the Delta region - and they have said loud and clear they oppose the construction of a peripheral canal," said Assemblymember Alyson Huber. "The Governor showed how out of touch he is with my communities when, just hours after the water package was passed, he touted his plans to build a canal through the Delta at a business event in Stockton. He just doesn't get it - he might as well walk into a Giant's game wearing a Dodger jersey."
Assemblymember Huber said she opposed the water package because "it creates a new layer of bureaucrats who will make decisions on water" that will impact the communities in her district, including the details of a canal.
To counteract proposals to give all authority to a group of unelected appointees, the Delta Stewardship Council, Huber offered up a simple bill (AB 13 7x) one to require a full analysis of the peripheral canal and require legislative approval - a common sense approach. Unfortunately, that bill was killed without a hearing.
Opponents of AB 1594 argue that it is a threat to achieving the co-equal goals of ecosystem restoration and reliable water supplies in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as passed in the water legislation package in 2009.
The opponents include the Desert Water Agency, Eastern Municipal Water District, Municipal Water District of Orange County, The Chamber Alliance of Ventura & Santa Barbara Counties, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Valley Ag Coalition and Westlands Water District.
Assemblymember Alyson Huber deserves kudos for reintroducing her bill to prohibit the construction of "Arnold's Big Ditch" without a full fiscal analysis and a vote of the legislature.
For more information, go to http://www.restorethedelta.org |
