Feinstein on Delta Tunnels at Los Angeles Town Hall

For Immediate Release: 4/21/17
Contact:
Brian Smith, 415-320-9384, brian@bpspr.com
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, 209-479-2053, barbara@restorethedelta.org
 

 
Los Angeles, CA – At a Town Hall meeting with constituents at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Los Angeles on April 20, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) told the audience she had not taken a position on the Delta Tunnels and wanted to be very clear on that.
 
During the question-and-answer session (VIDEO) at the end of the meeting, Feinstein tells the crowd…
 
1:07:20
“I do not support the Twin Tunnels. I have not taken a position. I don’t know the final diameter of the tunnel shape. My staff has not had a chance to look at the environmental impact reports that line the desk in the Governor’s office, floor to ceiling practically. But I have said nothing about the Twin Tunnels. I just want to make that clear to you.”
 
Senator Feinstein goes on to restate her neutrality on the Twin Tunnels while praising Governor Brown for his work on energy efficiency.
 
1:11:12
“I want to give the Governor a big kudos, I’m staying out of the Twin Tunnels, for now, anyway. But I think that what he has done to increase the energy efficiency of this state deserves a round of applause.”
 
Delta Activists are encouraged by this small change of tone. Senator Feinstein has a history of supporting water policies that largely favor corporate agriculture over the ecological integrity of the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary.
 
“We are hopeful that our campaign is making progress and maybe Senator Feinstein is seeing how important the estuary is to 11 million San Francisco Bay-Delta residents. The majority of Californians do not want to pay for a project that will cost tens of billions of dollars, and will not solve water supply challenges resulting from unrealistic agricultural water demands and climate change,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta.