Tell your congressional representatives to oppose HR3964, dangerous legislation being put forward by southern San Joaquin Valley congressmen using the drought as an excuse to play politics with California’s water management challenges.
This bill by Representative David Valadao of Hanford is being described as an “Emergency Water Delivery Act,” ignoring the fact that there is no water to deliver and that they over pumped the Delta last year by 800,000 acre feet, when they should have been holding water for an extended dry period.
Like similar legislation (HR1837) that died in the Senate two years ago, HR3964 would reduce water quality and water reliability for Delta communities and Delta farmers. According to Bill Jennings of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, an expert on Delta water quality issues: “It seeks to ensure water flows to agribusiness in the western and southern San Joaquin Valley at the expense of smaller Delta family farmers.”
If passed, this law also would:
- Strip Endangered Species protections for iconic salmon and other ?endangered species which are required under both California state law and federal ?law.
- Overturn the court approved San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement ?Act which, after twenty years of litigation, provided water for the San Joaquin River and salmon. The Settlement and the Act were supported by all parties to the litigation and numerous water districts in the San Joaquin Valley.
- Gut the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, which requires compliance with state law, encourages water conservation, makes modest reforms to reduce water subsidies, and contributes water for the recovery of endangered fish species.
- Override current protection for the Merced River under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and modify water contracts for certain contractors to provide significantly more water than they are entitled to under their current contracts.
HOW TO TAKE ACTION
Tell your representatives to resist this effort to use California’s drought to justify a water grab taking water from one region of the state to benefit unsustainable agricultural practices in another region.
- Call your house representatives:
- District-CA 11: Representative George Miller : (202) 225-2095
- District-CA 5: Representative Mike Thompson: (202) 225-3311
- District-CA 6: Representative Doris Matsui : (202) 225-7163
- District-CA 3: Representative John Garamendi: (202) 225-1880
- District-CA 9: Representative Jerry McNerney: (202) 225-1947
- District-CA 7: Representative Ami Bera: (202) 225-5716
- Email your house representatives:
- Send a postal letter to your house representatives:
- The Honorable George Miller, 2205 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515
- The Honorable Mike Thompson, 231 Cannon Office Building Washington, DC 20515
- The Honorable Doris Matsui, 2434 Rayburn Building, Washington, DC 20515
- The Honorable John Garamendi, 2438 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515
- The Honorable Jerry McNerney, 1210 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515
- The Honorable Ami Bera, 1408 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
In addition to contacting your representatives, we encourage you to use social media to also send a message to your house representatives to oppose HR3964, with hashtags #savethedelta #stopthetunnels, or #HR3964.
- Post on Facebook profiles:
- Tweet a message on Twitter profiles:
- Send a message to Rep. George Miller on Twitter
- Send a message to Rep. Mike Thompson on Twitter
- Send a message to Rep. Doris Matsui on Twitter
- Send a message to Rep. John Garamendi on Twitter
- Send a message to Rep. Jerry McNerney on Twitter
- Send a message to Rep. Ami Bera on Twitter