Dear Friends,
As always, Governor Newsom is throwing down ultimatums to push the Delta Tunnel into existence. Last night, reporting from Cal Matters and KCRA revealed that he insists that his CEQA Reform Bill (which has not gone through normal public and transparent processes) must be passed by midnight, June 30th, or we will not sign the State Budget.
We need you to call your Assemblymembers and State Senators NOW, this weekend, and again on Monday (repeatedly) to tell them the following:
- In 2023, the California Legislature carved out the Delta Tunnel EXPLICITLY from CEQA Reform. They need to do it again, and remind the Governor that CEQA was NOT to be tied to the budget, but handled through a robust public process. That is what governance is – process, transparency, public input, and hard-won consensus building.
- They, the California Legislature, MUST ensure, at a minimum, a carve out for Delta Conveyance in the CEQA Administrative Record Section, or better yet that section should be deleted altogether.
- You do not like seeing California Budget manipulation that mimics what is happening at the Federal level and that the Governor needs to govern in the ways Californians expect him to: transparency, good public process, and no tunnel.
While we believe this bill is dangerous for all California environmental concerns and would prefer that it disappear, the above items must happen.
Without a doubt, the Governor wants to destroy litigation around Delta Conveyance because his primary goal as California’s leader is to destroy the Delta and claim infrastructure victory for his Presidential aspirations. Enough is enough. It is time for him to do the real collaborative work with legislators, Tribes, and communities to solve our ENTIRE State’s water needs.
Here is how to look up your Assemblymembers and State Senators!
Thank you,
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla