REACTIONS: Legislators, Growers, and interest groups comment on Presidential memo

Earlier today, President Trump signed an executive memorandum on water intended to bring more water to Valley farms.  Here’s what legislators and interest groups had to say:

From House Republicans (McCarthy, Nunes, Valadao, Denham, McClintock. LaMalfa):

“Congressman Kevin McCarthy and Representatives Devin Nunes (CA-22), David Valadao (CA-21), Jeff Denham (CA-10), Ken Calvert (CA-42), Tom McClintock (CA-4), and Doug LaMalfa (CA-1) released the following statement today on President Trump’s executive memorandum on western water:

“The President’s announcement is an immense relief for the farmers and families of the San Joaquin Valley and communities across California.

Due to the actions of environmental extremists and overzealous bureaucrats, California has been suffering from a years-long water crisis that has wreaked havoc in Central Valley farming communities that feed tens of millions of Americans. Productive land has gone fallow and farmworkers have lost their jobs. Communities across California have also been devastated as senseless government regulations have mandated that billions of gallons of water be flushed out to the ocean and wasted.

Now, with this executive action, there is a strict timetable for rewriting the biological opinions that lie at the root of the water crisis. This executive action also prioritizes building critical projects to expand water storage in our state so that we can store more water during wet years for use in dry years.

We commend President Trump for taking decisive action today that will build on the success of the WIIN Act, cut through bureaucratic roadblocks, address Sacramento’s radical water grab, and increase the water supply to farms and communities across the state. California families can now rest assured that help is on the way.”

From Congressman Jim Costa:

Today, Congressman Jim Costa (CA-16) issued the following statement on the President’s memorandum aimed at streamlining regulatory processes and eliminating redundant and unnecessary water infrastructure regulations:

“Today’s announcement by the President is the next step in restoring more reliable water supplies to all regions of California. For years, communities throughout the San Joaquin Valley have been harmed by the regulations imposed under the Endangered Species Act which reduce the Valley’s water supplies in order to restore fish populations.

When these regulations were first proposed, I raised significant questions about the validity of the science used in their development. Since that time, a substantial scientific body of evidence has emerged which indicates that pumping restrictions are not the best way to protect endangered fish populations. Instead, addressing other stressors – like limiting predation by fish like the striped bass, increasing food production, and restoring critical habitat – is more effective in restoring endangered populations.

There is no silver bullet to solving California’s water challenges. It takes dedication and a commitment to working across the aisle to develop commonsense policies that help all regions of California. I’d like to commend President Trump for issuing this Presidential Memorandum to identify a single person to be responsible for reducing harmful regulations that limit water supplies to the Valley, restore scientific integrity to the regulatory process, and expedite much-needed water storage in California and across the West.”

From Congressman John Garamendi:

Today, Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, Davis, Yuba City), a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee who represents over 200 miles of the Sacramento valley, released the following statement in response to President Trump’s memorandum seeking to slash environmental protections for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in order benefit Central Valley interests:

“President Trump is continuing his attack on the environment and on California’s constitutional right to determine its water policies. Not only is he attacking the multi-million dollar fishing industry in California, but he’s also attacking the contractual and legal rights of water districts and seems determined to advance the disastrous $20 billion twin tunnels boondoggle. This is nothing but a cynical effort to build support for his endangered political allies in the Central Valley. I’ll defend the Delta against anyone, no matter who it is or which political party they belong to.”

From Congressman David Valadao:

After six years and numerous legislative attempts to restore water delivers to California’s Central Valley, U.S. Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-21) joined Central Valley Representatives as President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Memorandum promoting the reliable supply and delivery of water in California and the entire western United States.

Following the signing, U.S. Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-21) released the following statement:

“After years of fighting obstruction from California Senators, this Executive action is a giant leap toward reducing regulatory burdens and improving water deliveries to California’s Central Valley. I am proud our efforts have effectuated such substantial progress. With a reliable water supply, we can restore fallowed fields into fertile farmland, put Californian’s back to work, and give all Central Valley families the opportunity they deserve.”

Specifically, the Administration will expedite biological opinions for the Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project in California. In doing so, ensuring California farmers, and as a result, entire communities, have the certainty needed to grow.

Furthermore, the Presidential Memorandum will direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce to reduce regulatory burdens by:

• Streamline regulatory processes and remove unnecessary burdens
• Develop a timeline for completing compliance requirements for major water storage projects
• Expedite ongoing environmental reviews
• Convene water experts and resource managers to develop an action plan for improving seasonal forecasts of water availability
• Expand the use of technologies to improve the delivery of water and power
• Consider the views of local operators during hydroelectric relicensing proceedings

The Central Valley Project supplies water for more than 3 million acres of land in Central California, supporting seven of the top 10 agricultural counties in the state. Additionally, the Project supplies water for approximately 2.5 million Valley residents annually through its municipal and industrial water service.

From Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) of the House Committee on Natural Resources

From the California Farm Bureau, California Farm Water Coalition, Family Farm Alliance and Western Growers:

“Today’s order by President Trump will provide welcome relief to Western farmers, cities, rural communities and wildlife refuges that have struggled under water supply rules that are long overdue for an update. Prioritizing national interest and the value of California food production, the president’s order requires the re-consultation of the biological opinions to be completed and fully implemented by August 2019. The deadline will bring to a close the review of rules governing the long-term operation of the federal Central Valley Project and California State Water Project. The review has been underway since August 2016, a process today’s order requires to be concluded by Aug. 31, 2019.

The president’s action today fulfills his campaign commitment to help solve the state’s water supply shortages and will greatly benefit Central Valley communities and the environment. Since 1992, water supply restrictions have caused severe economic consequences for farms and the people who depend on them for work. Many of the state’s most disadvantaged communities have suffered due to scarce water supplies. Wildlife refuges that are a critical component of the Pacific Flyway have had insufficient water to meet the needs of millions of ducks, geese, shorebirds, songbirds and endangered animals in large parts of the Central Valley and the Klamath Basin. An ongoing review of the rules governing these critical water supplies only delays the ability of these important areas to recover.

This action will also help address water shortages that have occurred across the West as the result of federal regulations overseen by multiple agencies. It offers hope to farmers and ranchers served by federal water projects in the Pacific Northwest, including the Columbia Basin and the Klamath Basin. The president’s order places the responsibility of operating the federal water projects with the Department of the Interior, to be supported by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The action prohibits any impacts to threatened or endangered species protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

This issue has been scrutinized by the Executive Branch as far back as 2011. At that time, President Obama observed that the Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they’re in freshwater, but the Commerce Department handles them when they’re in saltwater. Those overlapping jurisdictions have only slowed efforts to help the fish.
A committee convened by the National Research Council also studied this matter a few years ago. The NRC found that the lack of a systematic, well-framed overall analysis between the two services is “a serious scientific deficiency, and it likely is related to the ESA’s practical limitations as to the scope of actions that can or must be considered in a single biological opinion.”

Improved coordination between federal agencies will promote more efficient, effective and coordinated management of all ESA responsibilities for anadromous and freshwater fish in Western watersheds, from the highest reaches of our headwaters to the Pacific Ocean.

“This action is an important and common-sense move that will benefit Western farmers and ranchers whose livelihoods depend on federal water projects,” said Dan Keppen, executive director of the Family Farm Alliance. “It’s a practical and assertive change to Western water management and species recovery that our membership strongly supports.”
California’s GOP congressional delegation from the Central Valley played an important role in identifying the problems in the state’s water system and worked closely with the Trump administration to produce a solution that is consistent with federal law and will improve the water delivery system.

“There’s no question that the Central Valley has lagged behind the economic recovery experienced in other parts of the state. We’re optimistic that these changes will not only help improve water supplies for farms, farm-related businesses, and disadvantaged rural communities, they will provide the incentive to put science-based solutions to work to help recover iconic native fish species that have suffered under the existing regulatory approach,” said Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition.

“This is a common-sense improvement to a process that has been abused in the past by regulatory agencies seeking to impose a scientifically-unsound regime on water users that ultimately, by design, de-irrigates some of the highest quality farmland in the world. This move by the Administration simply ensures that the process of revising the rules governing Delta water operations will be less vulnerable to regulatory abuse,” said Tom Nassif, president of the Western Growers Association.

“Implementation of the Endangered Species Act can be better for both species and people, and the president’s action moves us in that direction,” California Farm Bureau Federation President Jamie Johansson said. “It’s time to grow beyond the culture of conflict that has governed California water for too long. We need streamlined solutions that benefit species and that benefit both the farmers who provide California-grown food and farm products and everyone who depends on those products.”

From Restore the Delta:

“The real water grab is what Congressman Denham is inflicting on the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary.  Denham, a supposed conservative, is leading the charge to interfere with state rights to oversee and operate its water delivery systems, by pushing President Trump for Federal intervention in the Water Quality Plan for the Bay-Delta currently before the State Water Resources Control Board. In the process, he is splitting his own district, forgetting what is important to his constituents in San Joaquin County – a healthy and restored Delta.

“While we would like to see even more flows restored to rivers that flow into the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary than what is presently being considered by the State Water Board, the present plan before the Board, which President Trump and Interior Secretary Zinke are now trying to help Representative Denham thwart, contains at least an improvement over current in-flow conditions for the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary.

“Congressman Denham, who claims to be against the Brown Administration’s WaterFix tunnels, has, however, also voted for and helped to advance the controversial Calvert and Valadao riders in the Department of Interior House Appropriations bill. The Calvert rider would strip Delta residents of due process rights by blocking their ability to litigate over the tunnels project, while the Valadao rider would block Delta residents from being able to litigate over the operation of the Central Valley Project. Our concern is that Congressman Denham’s effort to stop the needed restoration of river flows downstream in the Delta, with passage of these riders, would mean that millions of Bay-Delta residents would have no legal recourse for deteriorated water quality conditions and reduced access to needed fresh water supplies from a re-operation of water projects – all to support almond growers up and down the San Joaquin Valley, whose crops are sold mostly to foreign markets. This matches up with recent campaign contributions Congressman Denham has taken from Stewart Resnick of the Wonderful Company, and board members from the Oakdale Irrigation District, and show the Congressman’s concerns for the top 1% of agribusiness at the expense of everyday Californians.

“Californians should not be fooled. Congressman Denham, who recently claimed according to a report in the Manteca Bulletin , “EPA has the authority under the Clean Water Act to stop the plan because it ‘fails to meet the Clean Water Act’s ‘sound, rigorous’ science standards for flow criteria,’” does not care about sound science guiding responsible water management policies for the state.  The science has shown time and time again that the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary will fail without restored freshwater flows.  Congressman Denham is using the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary to further his political aspirations and to hold onto power.  He is no friend of the estuary, or his constituents who depend on a healthy San Francisco Bay-Delta.”

Additional news coverage …

Trump orders quicker environmental review of California water projects:  “President Trump on Friday directed federal agencies to speed up their environmental review of major water projects in California and to develop plans to suspend or revise regulations that hamper water deliveries.  The directive will have little immediate practical effect. But it comes a bit more than two weeks before a midterm election in which some Central Valley Republicans are in close races to hold on to their congressional seats. … ”  Read more at the LA Times here:  Trump orders quicker environmental review of California water projects

——————————————–

Sign up for daily email service and you’ll always be one of the first to know!

• Sign up for daily emails and get all the Notebook’s aggregated and original water news content delivered to your email box by 9AM. Breaking news alerts like this one, too. Sign me up!

Maven’s Notebook
constantly watching over the world of California water