FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 4, 2025
Contact:
Ashley Castaneda, ashley@restorethedelta.org, 209-936-0901
Sacramento, CA – A broad coalition of environmental justice organizations, Tribes, Delta advocates, and taxpayer groups today sent a letter to the California Leadership — President Pro Tem McGuire, Speaker Rivas, Senator Wiener, Assemblymember Gabriel, and Members of the Budget Committees — urging them to reject Governor Newsom’s proposed Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) and Water Quality Control Plan CEQA Exemption trailer bills.
The letter, signed by 40 organizations, warns that the trailer bills would:
- Bypass CEQA to push forward the outdated Bay-Delta Plan without full environmental review.
- Override judicial oversight and hand the Department of Water Resources (DWR) unlimited bond authority for a project estimated to cost between $61 and $116 billion.
- Strip landowner protections by weakening constitutional rights to fair compensation.
- Silence public participation by restricting the ability of Tribes, Delta residents, and environmental justice communities to protest harmful water diversions.
Throughout the day, advocates learned that the State Water Contractors are advancing a strategy to secure CEQA exemptions for both the Bay-Delta Plan and the Delta Tunnel, with sunset clauses ending only when the projects are completed to their satisfaction. In effect, this strategy—backed by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the Governor’s Office—would isolate Tribes and Delta residents from due process rights guaranteed under current law.
“These trailer bills are nothing more than a power grab to steamroll Californians and fast-track a multi-billion-dollar boondoggle that voters and courts have already rejected,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta. “Governor Newsom is trying to override decades of public opposition, gut environmental protections, and hand a blank check to the Department of Water Resources at the expense of taxpayers, ratepayers, and Delta communities. The Legislature must stand firm in defense of democracy and reject these bills.”
The coalition’s letter underscores that the Bay-Delta Plan has not been updated since 1995, despite worsening ecological collapse in the estuary, including seven threatened or endangered fish species, toxic algal blooms, and a 26% decline in the Delta’s tourism economy since 2012. Instead of allowing the State Water Resources Control Board to complete its lawful review process, the trailer bills would exempt the Board from CEQA and make it easier for DWR to impose voluntary agreements that favor water exporters.
Polling shows that 58% of California voters oppose the Delta Conveyance Project, which has been repackaged repeatedly since the Peripheral Canal was rejected by voters in 1981. Despite being branded as a “climate solution,” opponents say the tunnel relies on rigid, outdated infrastructure that will not meet California’s long-term water needs in the face of climate change.
“The Governor is trying to rush through a deeply flawed project that will further devastate the Bay-Delta and undermine public trust,” Barrigan-Parrilla added. “True climate resilience requires restoring ecosystems and investing in equitable, sustainable water solutions—not pushing through a $100 billion tunnel behind closed doors.”
The coalition calls on lawmakers to defend California’s democratic processes, environmental safeguards, and fiscal integrity by rejecting both trailer bills in their entirety.
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