Trump does California water: What could possibly go wrong?

“Millions and millions of gallons are just being wasted and poured into the ocean,” he (Trump)  said. “You deserve water and you have the water. There are communities that don’t have the water. You have water. This is an easy one.”

 

“This president has worked greatly using science, not based on politics but on science, to allow to have more of that water stay with the Californians and America to make sure we’re secure in our food supply as we move forward," he said.

 

“Our goal continues to be to realize enforceable voluntary agreements that provide the best immediate protection for delta species, reliable and safe drinking water and dependable water sources for our farmers for economic prosperity," the governor stated. "This is the best path forward to sustain our communities, our environment and our economy.”

Editors used to frown on quotes from politicians like the above.

“But,” I would reply, “that’s exactly what the mayor said. You tell us to be accurate. Here it is, right in my notes, her very words."

“We don’t publish nonsense,” said one editor, whose editorial correctnes has carried him safely to a big job with the city.

The top quote, from the president, doesn’t make any sense at all. No doubt it was his take on the situation after he’d been briefed by the local congressmen, Kevin McCarthy and Devin Nunes. He would also have been briefed by  Secretary of the Department of the Interior, David Bernhardt, former top lobbyist for Westlands Water District. Westlands, among the other irrigation districts fed by the federal Central Valley Project, would  be the largest beneficiary of Trump’s scheme against the Public Trust. Finally, he would have hot a chat with someone with Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

The ssecond quote is from Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield. By all means and especially, make no mistake about it, we Americans need to protect our food supply. But, if we try to do it on Kern County’s main crops, it could create a national gastrointestinal crisis. Can Homo Americanus live on a diet of grapes, almonds, pistachios, citrus and dairy products, particularly if there may not be enough left after the bulk of these Kern County top commodities are exported to Asia, Mexico and Canada? So, we return to the question: How is food security achieved on export led agricultural commodities?

The final quote is from Gov. Gavin Newsom, a playboy former mayor of San Francisco whose family has had close ties with the oil industry.

The San Joaquin Valley, mainly around Bakersfield, is the sixth largest oil producing area in the US, producing about two-thirds of the California supply.

Perhaps his family’s historical connections to oil, investments, friendships or all of the above account for the governor’s deceitful behavior regarding water epitomized by this quote, which contains a great hole in the middle of it, the term enforceable voluntary agreements. Maybe Trump has successfully bullied him.

That buzz word du jour  must have brought down the walls and the roofs of the duck clubs of the rollicking west side growers in Los Banos during the past season.

All that is happening now is that new, worse baselines are being established for the state sanctioned extirpation of severely endangered species of wildlife and the governor is getting a lot of profile time. That, and maybe adding a few more years to the lives of fields full of salts and heavy metals.  And, perhaps even a resurrected San Joaquin Valley Drain to carry the contaminatEd waste water from the west side to the sloughs of the San Joaquin River.

All the bad ideas are conjured out of the graves where reason put them by the Venomous Developer in the White House. -- blj

 

 

2-19-20

Bakersfield Californian…

Trump signs declaration for delivering more Northern California water to Central Valley farmers

BY JOHN COX

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/trump-signs-declaration-for-delivering-...

President Donald Trump, speaking to a cheering crowd next to Meadows Field Airport, moved forward Wednesday with a controversial plan intended to give Central Valley farmers more water from the environmentally sensitive Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta east of San Francisco.

Trump signed a presidential memorandum that, along with finalization Wednesday of a federal "record of decision," is intended to bring new flexibility to the operation of two main conduits bringing water south from Northern California, the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra immediately responded with a news release saying the state would soon challenge the action, adding that "California won’t allow the Trump Administration to destroy and deplete our natural resources."

Farming groups and Central Valley politicians have hailed the Trump administration's proposal as a breakthrough that would provide water badly needed by California’s agricultural industry. The plan could also boost water deliveries to Southern California urban areas.

But environmentalists, together with fishing and tribal groups, say the proposal could push salmon and other endangered species to the brink of extinction. They urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to block the plan.

Trump, after being introduced to a crowd of more than 3,000 people by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, accused state officials of years of water mismanagement. He said he had come to take “historic action” on behalf of California farmers and ranchers.

“Millions and millions of gallons are just being wasted and poured into the ocean,” he said. “You deserve water and you have the water. There are communities that don’t have the water. You have water. This is an easy one.”

The president’s action was largely expected and some said the event’s bigger value was as a political stop to shore up support for Republican candidates in one of California’s most conservative regions.

Movement toward more irrigation water for the Central Valley follows a landmark executive memo Trump signed Oct. 19, 2018. It called for timely progress on rewriting federal biological opinions that have limited water deliveries from the delta. The memo also prioritized development of water storage projects in the state.

Federal officials say the administration's year-old water-diversion plan protects endangered species through real-time monitoring of fish populations. That’s expected to provide greater flexibility for pumping water out of the delta, which currently is calendar-based. The proposal would also provide $1.5 billion over 10 years to support endangered fish.

It’s unclear whether, or how much, the federal proposal would conflict with Newsom’s ongoing efforts to bring together various parties in support of so-called “voluntary agreements” for the future management of water through the delta.

These agreements, spelled out in a 15-year program, call for 900,000 acre-feet of new water flows to help endangered fish, 60,000 in new or restored habitat and $5.2 billion for environmental improvements. Observers say the plan would give water agencies new flexibility to use delta water.

Also unclear was whether the Trump administration’s plan would require a state permit — Newsom administration officials said they did not know — and whether more water for the federally operated Central Valley project might mean less water for the State Water Project.

Newsom, who has said he wants to find a middle ground between the positions of farmers and environmentalists, wrote Monday to U.S. Department of the Interior Sec. David Bernhardt, saying his administration “remains committed” to resolving the differences that remain after more than a year of working with federal officials to finalize the voluntary agreements.

Environmental groups have slammed the federal proposal. The Sierra Club asserted it would cut California’s drinking water supply, reduce water for endangered fish and divert more water to the president’s supporters.

“The Trump administration has essentially decided to distribute California’s limited water to benefit its wealthy, well-connected friends,” the group wrote in a news release Wednesday.

McCarthy, the House minority leader, has worked with Trump to remove obstacles to greater water shipments to the Central Valley. On Sunday, in what he later called a preview to Trump’s visit to Kern, he told Fox News that California needs a more secure food supply.

“This president has worked greatly using science, not based on politics but on science, to allow to have more of that water stay with the Californians and America to make sure we’re secure in our food supply as we move forward," he said.

Newsom released a statement saying the state's legal challenge to Trump's plan would be filed within days.

“Our goal continues to be to realize enforceable voluntary agreements that provide the best immediate protection for delta species, reliable and safe drinking water and dependable water sources for our farmers for economic prosperity," the governor stated. "This is the best path forward to sustain our communities, our environment and our economy.”