Huber reintroduces bill to protect Delta from peripheral canal

Assemblymember Alyson L. Huber (D-El Dorado Hills) has re-introduced legislation, A.B. 550, that would prohibit the construction of a peripheral canal around the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta without a full fiscal analysis and a vote of the state legislature.

"Please stand with me as I continue the fight to protect one of our region's most vital natural resources: The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta," said Huber. "I believe this legislation is critical to ensuring oversight over one of the largest infrastructure projects California has seen in decades."

Assembly Bill 550 will be heard in the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife at the State Capitol, Room 437, January 10 at 9 a.m. Space is limited in the hearing room, so please arrive early if you would like a seat.

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta, urged people concerned about the future of the largest and most significant estuary on the West Coast of the Americas to attend the hearing and to send a letter in support of the legislation.

"We believe that Assemblymember Huber’s bill is one of the most important pieces of proposed legislation for Californians," said Barrigan-Parrilla. "Can California tax payers and water rate payers afford to pay more out of pocket for a project that will benefit a few powerful water district leaders and corporate agribusiness growers? We encourage all RTD members to take the time to support this important piece of legislation."

"With your help we can show that Delta area residents will not stand idle while Southern California water interests attempt to bulldoze their way through the Delta," concluded Huber.

AB 550 would "prohibit the construction and operation of a peripheral canal from diminishing or negatively affecting the water supplies, water rights, or quality of water for water users within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed, or imposing any new burdens on infrastructure within, or financial burdens on persons residing in, the Delta or the Delta watershed," according to the bill text.

The Brown and Obama administration are fast-tracking the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) to build a peripheral canal in order to export more Delta water to southern California and corporate agribusiness on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. Delta advocates believe the construction of peripheral canal or tunnel would result in the extinction of Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River chinook salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other imperiled fish species.

The BDCP, like the privately funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative, is a corrupt process filled with numerous conflicts of interest. Documents obtained by this reporter under the California Public Records Act reveal that Susan Ramos, Deputy General Manager of the Westlands Water District, was hired in an inter-jurisdictional personal exchange agreement between the Department of Water Resources and Westlands Water District from November 15, 2009 through December 31, 2012. (http://blogs.alternet.org/danbacher/2011/12/14/westlands-official-working-for-dwr-on-delta-plan)

I applaud Assemblymember Huber for standing up for our fish populations, the Delta and all Californians by sponsoring this legislation to stop the canal!

Send your letter of support to: Honorable Jared Huffman, Chair, Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee, 1020 N Street, Suite 160, Sacramento, CA 95814, P.O. Box 94249, Sacramento, CA 94249-00119, FAX: (916) 319-2196

Pasted below, you will find Restore the Delta’s letter in support of the bill. Feel free to use it as a template to send your own letter to Assemblymember Jared Huffman.

January 5, 2012

Assemblyman Jared Huffman, Chair
Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee
1020 N. Street, Suite 160
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Assemblyman Huffman:

Restore the Delta supports Assemblywoman Huber’s bill AB 550. AB 550 would prohibit the construction of a peripheral canal around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta without a full fiscal analysis and a vote of the Legislature.

Restore the Delta maintains that the people of California deserve to know that due process will take place before tax payers and rate payers are asked to spend billions of dollars on a peripheral canal. It is imperative that our state’s Legislature continues to oversee large-scale projects and does not delegate its authority to unelected bureaucrats who are not held accountable by voters.

Sincerely yours,
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Executive Director
Restore the Delta

Please send copies of the letter to assemblymember.huber [at] assembly.ca.gov, FAX 916-319-2110. For more information about the campaign against the peripheral canal, go to: http://www.restorethedelta.org.