SDNR Commentary

Consistent with the law of averages, the California legislature finally seems to have gotten it right.

Earlier this week, in what the San Francisco Chronicle hailed as a “remarkable achievement,” Sacramento Democrats and Republicans came together to pass “a five-bill package that goes a long way toward ending the constant feuding, promising stable water flows, environmental safeguards, and billions in bond money.”

The legislation—which resolves decades of squabbling that’s pitted left against right, south against north, and businesses against greens—does several things.

First, it authorizes an $11.1 billion water bond to fund new storage, improvements in the water supply, restoration of various ecosystems, and watershed protections. This bond would appear on the November 2010 ballot for approval by voters.

Second, the package establishes a program to monitor groundwater across the state.

Third, it sets a statewide conservation goal of reducing urban per-capita usage by 20 percent by 2020.

Fourth, it creates a new oversight body for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and firmly declares that management of the delta must accommodate the dual objectives of ensuring reliability of the water supply reliability and protecting the ecosystem.

Finally, the bill adds 25 new officers to the State Water Resources Control Board enforcement staff.

The bipartisan package has earned praise from across the political spectrum.

State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) claimed “this is something that legislatures for decades have tried to take on and have been unable to do so.  This Legislature took it on, and we were successful.”

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) asserted that “the package includes conservation and storage, groundwater protection, water rights protection, and Delta protection and represents the most significant water infrastructure and policy advances since the State Water Project in the 1960s.”

Even U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer joined the party, lauding the bipartisan effort that “will move our state toward meeting the needs of our people, our farming communities and the environment.”

Across the aisle, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger echoed Steinberg and Bass, saying “water is the lifeblood of everything we do in California. Without clean, reliable water, we cannot build, we cannot farm, we cannot grow and we cannot prosper.  That is why I am so proud that the Legislature, Democrats and Republicans, came together and tackled one of the most complicated issues in our state’s history.

Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher (R-San Diego) believes that “this new compromise provides for the construction of infrastructure projects that will bring water to the regions of our state that need it most.  It also ensures a reliable, quality water supply in the Delta and throughout California.”

And Meg Whitman, a Republican gubernatorial hopeful, offered cautious praise, calling the measures “a good start to solving a crisis years in the making” and emphasizing that “we must ensure that this deal in fact delivers what Californians expect: A real fix to our outdated water delivery system that give[s] farmers and cities an affordable, safe supply of water while protecting the Delta’s ecosystem.”

Of course, not everyone’s happy with the deal.  Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club California, Friends of the River, Restore the Delta, and the California Water Impact Network  blasted Steinberg, on the theory that the package will “likely result in the extinction of collapsing Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations.”

One activist opined that “it is clear that Darrell Steinberg cares nothing about the needs of his constituents.  He is a corporate Democrat who is now serving as the shameless ‘water boy’ for…corporate interests.”

Interestingly, labor unions, including the SEIU and the California Teachers Association, have also apparently sided with these green groups in opposing the water deal.  But other environmental organizations like the Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Defense Council have given it their blessing.

Furthermore, some Republicans have expressed concern over the size of the bond and other shortcomings in the various pieces of legislation.

But Fletcher, while acknowledging the package’s imperfection, touts the benefits that will flow to San Diego in particular:  enhanced economic development through the increased building permits that improved water conveyance will facilitate; a boosted and better-protected water supply; and new water-related infrastructure, which means more jobs for the region.

So while the jury may still be out on the water deal, early indications suggest a favorable verdict.  Not quite what you’d expect from our Sacramento representatives.

Michael M. Rosen, a News Room contributor, is an attorney in Carmel Valley and the Secretary of the Republican Party of San Diego County.  The views expressed are his own.  Reach him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

                                            

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