FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2025
Contact:
Ashley Castaneda, ashley@restorethedelta.org, 209-936-0901
Stockton, CA – A coalition of Tribes, environmental justice organizations, fishing groups, conservation advocates, and Delta communities successfully stopped a package of Delta trailer bills that would have had disastrous consequences for the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary.
Working in close collaboration with the Delta Caucus, co-chaired by Senator Jerry McNerney and Assemblymember Lori Wilson, and with the leadership of Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, advocates ensured that proposals advanced by Governor Newsom, the State Water Resources Control Board, the California Natural Resources Agency, and the State Water Contractors did not move forward in this legislative session.
The defeated trailer bills would have stripped Tribes and Delta communities of their ability to participate in CEQA review of the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan and would have advanced construction and bonding for the controversial Delta Conveyance Project, including unlimited bonding authority for the Department of Water Resources.”
“Delta communities and allies across California stood up to defend clean water, fisheries, local economies, and environmental justice – and we won,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta. “This victory shows that the people of the Delta will not be silenced, and that California’s laws protecting public participation, water quality, and the environment cannot simply be swept aside.”
The opposition was broad and vocal. Last week, more than 50 organizations from across the state formally opposed the trailer bills, while thousands of Californians sent emails and phone calls to legislators urging them to reject the package.
“This is a victory for transparency, for Tribal inclusion, for Delta farming communities, and for every Californian who depends on healthy rivers and fisheries,” Barrigan-Parrilla added. “We are grateful to legislative leaders who listened and stood with us to uphold California’s water laws. We are grateful to our organizational partners and supporters from throughout California.”
Signatories to the opposition letter signed last week are available for interviews
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