Shameless demogoguery
Fresno Bee
9-7-07
Ruling will damage region's water future...Mike Villines Rep. 29th Assembly District
A recent ruling handed down by a federal judge in Fresno places a significant portion of the water our region receives from the San Joaquin Delta in jeopardy, which could devastate our region's economy and public health.
U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger has entered a ruling that has been called the largest court-ordered water supply reduction in state history, all to protect the delta smelt, a tiny species of fish found in the Delta.
Thirty-five percent or more of the water pumped through the Delta each year --enough water to supply nearly 4 million homes -- could disappear overnight as a result of this ruling.
This irresponsible decision will have a very damaging impact on ouragriculture industry. Water from the Delta is a critical source of water forhundreds of local farms.
Losing this water will hurt production of the California-grown agriculture that feeds the world and employs thousands of workers. Without enough water fromthe Delta, farmers may be forced to take more farmland out of production or lower-quality groundwater that can cause lasting damage to their land.
The court's ruling will also threaten the public health of millions of people who live in the Central Valley, who rely upon water from the Delta as their primary source of clean drinking water.
Water officials will be forced to tap into limited reserves to make up for the lost water, and could lead to mandatory rationing in communities across the state. Even worse, the ability to transfer water from one part of the state to another will diminish with the pumps slowing down, making California more
vulnerable to future droughts.
It is very disappointing that state officials would be forced by extremeenvironmental groups to take such an outlandish step just to protect one species of fish. Protecting the health and well-being of human beings should be the first priority of policymakers and the courts when considering actions that will
affect the water supply of our region.
While we must take responsible steps to protect the environment and preven the extinction of endangered species, we must never take any action that could cause such a heavy toll on the health and safety of Californians or the economy, radical changes that will force people to change how they earn a living or live
their daily lives, but rather to take the responsible steps required to strengthen California's water future.
The responsible step is to build more water storage, because the state hasn't
built a dam in the past 40 years.
It's time to get serious about building more above-ground water storage capacity and water conveyance projects across our state. Lawmakers must prioritize the additional resources required to build increased water storage, so we can capture more rain each winter and more melting Sierra snow each spring
before it flows into the ocean.
More water storage capacity means more water available for drinking and agriculture, and more water collected in wet years to get us through the dry ones. It will allow us not only to meet human needs, but environmental needs as well.
While conservation is an important component of any comprehensive plan for our water future, it is only part of the solution. California cannot conserve itself out of this situation because we have 500,000 new residents moving to our state every year.
Building more water storage is a critical step that must be taken soon if we are to avoid having to resort to rationing or more Delta pump shutdowns.
Lawmakers had a golden opportunity earlier this year to dedicate the resources required to build more storage capacity by passing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed water storage bonds, but environmental politics and shortsighted thinking stood in the way. We cannot continue to ignore our lack of water storage much longer without consequences.
Going forward, we must not let concern for the delta smelt stand in the way of clean drinking water for millions of people and an important water source that fuels our local and statewide economy.
We must act to improve the flow of clean water across our state and build the additional water storage capacity required to meet our growing water needs.
Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines of Clovis represents the 29th
Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes parts of Fresno
and Madera counties.
--------------------------
'Shameless demagoguery'
The Sept. 7 commentary by Assembly Member Mike Villines labels federal Judge Oliver Wanger "irresponsible" for ordering the federal government to take steps to protect the Bay-Delta fishery, including seasonal pumping reductions.
Two things are certain: Assembly Member Villines is little familiar, if at all, with the requirements of environmental law or the thousands of pages of scientific evidence in the case, and he is shamelessly pandering to narrow western San Joaquin Valley agribusiness interests and cares little for Delta
farming or fishing interests.
Had Assembly Member Villines attended the hearing in which Judge Wanger announced his decision, he would have learned the judge was required to follow the law.
There is a disturbing propensity for any special-interest group nowadays to attack federal judges as "irresponsible" when the judges decide cases based on the rule of law, not on the desires of the losing party.
The irony is that Judge Wanger has ruled many times for agricultural interests. When the law required him to rule otherwise, attack dogs like Assembly Member Villines start the mud-slinging.
If Assembly Member Villines doesn't like the environmental laws, he should lobby Congress to change them. Ignorant attacks by know-nothings on judges areshameless demagoguery.
Lloyd Carter
California Save Our Streams Council
Clovis