Peripheral Canal/Tunnel Opponents Rally at Capitol

 

On July 25, 2012, Governor Jerry Brown and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, joined by a representative of NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association), held a small press briefing to announce the next big phase of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP): putting plumbing before policy to start building two huge tunnels capable of diverting most of the Sacramento River under the Delta.  Decisions about how to operate and manage it to protect fisheries, habitat, and Delta communities will come later.

Click here to listen to an audio recording of the day’s speeches.

An hour later, several hundred people came together on the West Steps of the Capitol to protest the Governor’s proposal.  Joining Restore the Delta’s Executive Director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla in addressing the rally was a diverse group of speakers:

• Congressman John Garamendi
• Senator Lois Wolk
• Assembly Member Bill Berryhill
• Assembly Member Cathleen Galgiani
• Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli
• Stockton Mayor Ann Johnston
• Winnemem Wintu Chief and Spiritual Leader Caleen Sisk
• Kristen Lynch of Food and Water Watch
• Jim Metropulos of the Sierra Club
• Bill Jennings of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance
• Zeke Grader of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations
• Bruce Reznik of the Planning and Conservation League;
• Nick Di Croce of the Environmental Water Caucus

Said Barrigan-Parrilla, “We are here to let Governor Brown know that we oppose the rush to build a project that would exterminate salmon runs, destroy sustainable Delta family farms, and saddle taxpayers with tens of billions of dollars of debt, mainly to benefit a small number of huge corporate agribusinesses on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and in Kern County.”

“It is, she said, “the continuation of a decades-old scheme to justify taking the best water possible from the Delta, Sacramento River water.”

Barrigan-Parilla listed better solutions:

“First, we need to strengthen existing levees.  It’s a far more efficient and cost-effective way to protect the Delta and preserve environmental and economic stability in our region.  It will cost $2-4 billion to upgrade levees, according to the Delta Protection Commission.  By contrast, the project proposed by BDCP will cost $17.2 billion to build, plus $34 billion for financing, bringing the project to $51 billion without mitigation costs.”

“Second, we must permanently reduce the amount of water taken from the Delta.  The State has granted 8.4 times more in water rights that what is available in the system.  Instead of destroying the Delta to meet the demands of billionaire mega-farmers and desert developments, let’s end the myth of surplus water.  It doesn’t make sense to jeopardize prime Delta farmland and surrounding areas to subsidize irrigation on impaired lands.” 

“Third, we need to route water through the Delta.  Water that flows to the ocean is not wasted.  It’s what gives life to fisheries to support the ocean food chain.  The health of the Delta is the health of the Bay and the health of the ocean.”

“Last, we need to increase reliance on local water supplies and improve water conservation.  A $51 billion peripheral tunnel will submerge cities in debt, will threaten to undermine important local investments, and would fail to make water for the system.”

Several of the day’s speakers were already on record in comments in a press advisory released earlier in the day.  Said Kristin Lynch, Pacific Region Director for Food & Water Watch, “This project would cost billions upon billions of dollars to give ever-increasing amounts of taxpayer and ratepayer subsidized water to corporate agriculture and real estate developers to make millions upon millions in profits.  It is the ultimate fleecing of ratepayers and taxpayers. The special interests argue this is the only way to secure reliable water for southern California. This is false. California will not go dry without these tunnels.  This is a fallacy that those moneyed special interests use to try and create an artificial rift between the north and south. There are no guarantees that southern California residents will receive more water. As an indication to the contrary, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is already projecting increased rates for decreased water consumption.  How much will rates need to increase if this project moves forward?”

Jim Metropulos, senior advocate for Sierra Club California, said, “We need to know upfront what the impacts of the project are and how they are going to mitigate these impacts or to actually improve conditions for fish. The plan states that some species, like

the winter Chinook salmon, would be harmed by the construction of the tunnels. Their own studies show there could be species decline and extinction, and the project could make things worse than not doing anything at all,”

Zeke Grader, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and the Golden Gate Salmon Association, said, “History clearly shows those who covet salmon water in California will take as much of it as they can get away with.  They’ve done it time and again.  They’ve been reined in a bit since pumping restrictions designed to keep salmon and other fish from going extinct went into effect starting in late 2008.  The agribusinesses have been in court ever since trying to get these pumping restrictions thrown out.  Thankfully, no court has yet granted their wish but they clearly would crank the pumps as high as they’d go if allowed.  This is what they did between the year 2000 and 2006 when they set all time high pumping records.”

Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, said, “Two-thirds of Delta water exports go to support 0.3-0.4% of the California population and economy (GDP) on the Westside of the San Joaquin Valley.  Less than a third goes to areas representing two-thirds of the state’s population and economy. Why would anyone choose to sacrifice family farms on prime farmland in the Delta in order to send subsidized water to grow subsidized crops on the impaired soils of Westside plantations, whose owners live in Pacific Heights and Beverly Hills?  Why would we use two and a half times the water to grow an almond in the Westside of the Valley than is required to grow an almond in Butte County? The ‘tunnels’ represent more than simply a transfer of good quality water around the Delta.  They also represent a massive transfer of wealth from north to south.”

Caleen Sisk, Chief and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, said, “The common people will pay for the tunnels and a few people will make millions. It will turn a once pristine Delta waterway into a sewer pipe. It will be bad for the fish, the ocean and the people of California.”

In a separate interview that day, Jonas Minton, water policy adviser for the Planning and Conservation League, said the proposal takes a “Build it now, figure it out later approach. But after they spend billions building new tunnels, the pressure would be overwhelming to maximize water exports no matter the consequences on the fish.”

To listen to audio from the rally click here.

Also, check out Restore the Delta’s Facebook page for more photos, videos, and news from the Rally!