Action Alert: Calls Needed Immediately!

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Any Congressional bill worth considering must NOT be negotiated in secret!

Action Alert11.18.14: All who are interested in protecting the waters of the Sacramento Valley from the fate suffered by the Owens and San Joaquin Valleys, PLEASE make phone calls today!

Senator Feinstein is urgently trying to reconcile her so-called “drought” Bill (2198) with the House version that is even worse (3964) at the end of 2014. The public will be given about 48 hours to review something that has been negotiated behind closed doors for 6 months! The bill also impacts other states besides California. See also Sacramento Bee editorial, “Feinstein freezes out north state in water bill talks” (11.19.14) and Fresno Bee report, “Talks on drought bill underway on Capitol Hill” (11.18.14).

Because a public version of the present legislation hasn’t been released still, here are destructive elements that were in past versions of the Bill.

  • Water transfers from the Sacramento Valley are expedited circumventing public processes in federal environmental laws.
  • Refuges are pushed to turn to groundwater instead of relying on what the Central Valley Improvement Act requires in the way of surface water deliveries.
  • Most benefits are for desert agriculture in the southwestern San Joaquin Valley – not California as a whole – and especially not the area of origin where most of the water comes from: the Sacramento River Watershed.

If you want to know more about the major players, watch this excellent video created in 2010 by Salmon Water Now (Bruce Tokars): http://vimeo.com/11337689.

Consider the following when making your calls:

1. The process needs to be the issue since the legislation hasn’t been released. Why have discussions been closed for 6 months? Why is it being rushed through the Senate without appropriate hearings?

2. Demand access to the process — e.g., request copies of the bill drafts, agency comments, water district comments.

3. Ask Senator Feinstein what is her intent. Did her staff write this Bill? How much influence did Westlands [1] have on the Bill? A great deal of it is likely incomprehensible in many areas, so once a copy is finally released, rather than trying to figure out the conflicting sections between water rights and the transfer sections or area of origins sections, ask all the Senators to explain who benefits and who loses in this deal. Clearly, if it isn’t special interest legislation, releasing it with time to review and allow public hearings wouldn’t be a threat.

Action Needed: Call the following and express your views.

  • Senator Dianne Feinstein (D- CA) – (202) 224-3841 or (415) 393-0707 (Appropriations Committee)
  • Senator Barbara Boxer (D- CA) – (202) 224-3553 or (510) 286-8537 (Chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee)
  • Senator Mark Udall (D-NM) – (202) 224-6621
  • Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) – (202) 224-3753; Bill sponsor (Appropriations Committee)
  • Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) – (202) 224-3441 (Energy and Natural Resources Committee)
  • Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) – (202) 224-3542 or (775) 686-5750 (Reno)
  • Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) – (202) 224-3934 (Energy and Natural Resources Committee)

[1] Westlands Water District is a junior water rights holder located in the southern San Joaquin Valley. They have been trying to garner more secure water using politics for decades. Click here to locate Westlands on ownership maps.