Dear Restore the Delta supporters,
Below you will find an urgent letter which we are sending to Governor Schwarzenegger in response to the water bond initiatives that have been filed by the California Chamber of Commerce. Our goal is to make it clear to the Governor and Senator Feinstein why the Chamber?s initiatives are bad for the Delta and bad for the state budget - both of which are at critical junctures.
Because we would like to send these letters as soon as possible, and because we want to show the breadth of support for our campaign, we are asking each and every one of you to sign on to this letter with Restore the Delta staff.
You can add your name to the letter by simply sending me an email with your name and with ?add my name to the letter to the Governor? in the subject line. Send your email to Barbara@restorethedelta.org.
Please respond to our action alert as soon as possible.
Thank you for your support as we move forward in protecting the California Delta.
Best regards,
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Campaign Director
Restore the Delta
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January 28, 2008
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:
The purpose of this letter is to express Restore the Delta?s opposition to the four Chamber of Commerce Water Bond Initiatives that have been filed with the Secretary of State. Restore the Delta -- the Delta?s grassroots campaign consisting of concerned citizens, fishermen, farmers, people of faith, environmentalists, boaters, wake boarders, and local Delta business leaders - knows that each of these four initiatives would undermine the health of the California Delta, our state?s most important aquatic ecosystem.
What is even more alarming is that one of the Chamber?s initiatives would mandate the construction of a Peripheral Canal, without any meaningful protections for the Delta?s ecosystem. Whereas current science indicates that a real and lasting reduction in water exports is necessary for bringing Delta fisheries back from the brink of irreversible destruction, the Chamber is poised to push an initiative that will fail to remedy the eco-emergency at hand, only to devise a new way to send water south ten years from now.
Restore the Delta also maintains that each of these Chamber these proposals would be detrimental to California?s economy and, in fact, would do little to bolster California?s water supply. First off, the annual repayment for these bonds would add a half a billion dollars to our annual budget for years to come - at a time when funding for schools and other vital services is being cut. Second, initial cost estimates for new dam projects that could be funded by these bonds reveal that they are extraordinarily expensive and produce little water. The state?s own State Water Plan found that there is far more water available from conservation, wastewater recycling and better groundwater management for significantly fewer investment dollars than from the construction of these new dams.
Even more infuriating to Delta locals is that most of the water from these proposed dam projects sent via the peripheral canal would likely go to San Joaquin Valley agribusiness interests, the same groups who have driven the record setting Delta exports of the last eight years - all to the detriment of our communities. And our urban neighbors, from throughout the state, while footing the bill, would see little water for their dollar spent.
Last, each initiative would undermine the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force. The Task Force, which was created by legislation and an executive order, enjoys strong support and has recommended reforms in the agencies that govern the Delta. These bonds would take that reform decisions out of the hands of the Task Force and the legislature, and, instead, would put in motion new Delta conveyance facilities without a comprehensive plan to restore the California Delta.
We thank you for your consideration of our points expressed in this letter.
Respectfully yours,
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Campaign Director
Restore the Delta
Cc: Senator Diane Feinstein
Cc: Congressman Jerry McNerney
Cc: Congressman George Miller
