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Congressional Hearing Highlights Federal Overrule of State Water Rights in New Republican Water Bill

June 13, 2011

(Washington, DC) Today, a Water and Power Subcommittee hearing called by Rep. Grace F. Napolitano exposed critical flaws in HR 1837, the San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act, a radical Republican water bill which would usurp California’s water laws, roll back California’s environmental protections, overturn California’s water rights system to the benefit of a few powerful agricultural users, and set precedent for litigation against other states’ water rights.
“This radical legislation threatens California’s ability to manage its own water and protect its environment,” Napolitano said. “Its provisions would damage our environment, undercut decades of agreements and ongoing negotiations to improve our water supply, and almost guarantee the extinction of California’s salmon industry and damage our economy. By allowing a select group of agricultural users to bypass state environmental regulations, this bill turns our state water rights system upside-down and pushes the costs of future droughts, climate changes, and environmental needs onto the backs of water users and taxpayers across the state.”
HR 1837 overrides state water and environmental regulations, threatening California’s fragile ecosystem and pushing the cost of environmental protection onto senior water rights holders.
Members of the subcommittee heard testimony from California salmon fisherman Dave Bitts, whose industry experienced 100% unemployment in 2008 and 2009 from lack of salmon and lost millions in revenue.
Pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta kills young salmon as they swim out to sea, contributing to the decline of the salmon population. HR 1837 waives pumping restrictions for the Central Valley Water project and would lead to more die-offs in order to gain more water for junior water rights holders.
“Any solution to California’s water and environmental needs affects the rest of the West,” said Tony Willardson, a representative from the Western States Water Council. “We wish to reemphasize the States are primarily responsible for the management of their water resources.”
“This misguided and destructive effort could trigger another round of water wars,” Napolitano said. “We must hear from all of the Californians who share our water supply and improve our water supply to the benefit of all of California.”


Background on the San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act:
• If passed, the new bill would override state law and disrupt or make impossible a number of negotiations Californians are currently involved in to improve their water supply, including the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and the 2009 bipartisan water bill passed by the California legislature.
• The bill harms the environment by rolling back the water contributions that the Central Valley Project makes to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to 1994 levels, ignoring environmental changes in the Delta and additional endangered species that have become threatened in the intervening 17 years.
• The bill waives environmental impact studies for new water contracts in the Central Valley Project and extends current 25-year contracts without any environmental review for a minimum of 40 years. Because the contracts are exempted from contributing water for the health of the Delta, under current law other Californians will have no choice but to make up the difference when future droughts, climate changes, and environmental needs tighten the available water supply.
• The bill turns California’s water rights system upside-down, exempting these same agricultural interests from contributing water to help desperately weakened commercial fisheries and allowing them to use or sell water that would otherwise go to the fragile Delta. This favoritism upends California’s water rights system and reduces supply for other water users who continue to play by the rules.
• The purported reason for the bill is to help unemployment in the Central Valley, yet respected California economists Richard Howitt and Jeffrey Michael have debunked claims that pumping restrictions have had any major effects on the Central Valley’s economy, and the bulk of unemployment is due to the bust in the housing market.

Documents:
Letter of opposition from leaders of the California State Legislature, (Speaker John Perez, Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, Senate Natural Resources and Water Chair Fran Pavley, Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Chair Jared Huffman, and Assembly Natural Resources Chair Wes Chesbro):
“H.R. 1837 undermines judicial agreements, erodes long-standing water law principles, usurps California’s sovereignty, and lays waste to any hope of progress in the Delta.”
https://napolitano.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/napolitano-evo.house.gov/files/documents/Letter%20from%20CA%20State%20Legislature.pdf

Editorial from the Contra Costa Times:
“[This is] unbalanced legislation that would undermine key environmental protections for the Delta and flush the work of many dedicated individuals down the drain.”
https://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_18248860

Letter of opposition from 12 different fishing industries:
“There are no words strong enough to describe the complete devastation this bill would bring to the Central Valley salmon runs and those who depend on them for their livelihoods, recreation and food sources.”
https://napolitano.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/napolitano-evo.house.gov/files/documents/Salmon%20Letter_McClintock%20Re%20H%20R%20%201837%20%282%29.pdf

Letter of opposition from Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar:
“This legislation would undo ongoing broad-based collaborative initiatives that have been underway for many years to solve some of California’s most significant water issues.”
https://napolitano.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/napolitano-evo.house.gov/files/documents/salazar%20letter%20HR%201837.pdf


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Issues:Water