A broad coalition of Tribes, environmental justice organizations, fishing groups, conservation advocates, and Delta communities successfully halted Governor Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal that sought to bypass critical legal, environmental, and public participation processes in order to fast-track the controversial Delta Tunnel project.
The proposal faced immediate and unified opposition from Tribes, Delta organizations, and local communities, who warned that the enormous financial burden of the tunnel would fall on ratepayers, and the project would cause irreversible damage to the already fragile Delta ecosystem.
As Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta stated, “Delta communities and allies across California stood up to defend clean water, fisheries, local economies, and environmental justice – and we won. 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.”
Delta legislative representatives joined residents and community groups in celebrating the outcome. “Once a short-sighted policy, always a short-sighted policy. We will continue to stand strong and fight for the Delta and the communities who call it home,” said Assemblymember Lori Wilson.
Richard Walker, professor emeritus of economic and urban geography at UC Berkeley, described the Delta Tunnel project to KQED as a “zombie idea that won’t … go away,” driven by the financial interests of powerful agribusiness and water agencies.
The coalition opposing the Delta Tunnel remains committed to resisting any future attempts to revive the project. Instead, they are advancing water solutions for California that prioritize local job creation, sustainability, water affordability for ratepayers, and the restoration of the Delta and the state’s watersheds.
News Roundup:
- Newsom’s push to fast-track Delta water tunnel stalls in the California Legislature. The Los Angeles Times.
- Newsom’s Push to Fast-Track Delta Tunnel Fails, Moving Fight to High-Stakes Hearing. KQED.
- Newsom’s bid to fast-track Delta tunnel stalls again. CalMatters.
- Victory: Broad Coalition Defeats Governor’s Trailer Bills to Fast-Track Delta Tunnel. Daily Kos.
- Delta Caucus, Solano ring victory bell on rejected fast-track tunnel effort. The Daily Republic.
- Gov. Newsom’s Attempt to Fast-Track Delta Tunnel Project Rejected by Legislature, Again. California Globe.
- California Delta Lawmakers Celebrate Defeat of Fast-Track Plan for Controversial Delta Tunnel. NewsBreak.
- Delta Caucus Leaders Applaud Defeat of Delta Tunnel Fast-Tracking Plan. Contra Costa News.
- Delta Caucus leaders applaud defeat of tunnel fast-tracking plan. Lodi News.
- RESTORE THE DELTA: Delta communities, Tribes, and advocates defeat Newsom’s Delta trailer bills. Maven’s Notebook.
- DELTA COUNTIES COALITION responds to Legislature’s actions to stop Delta Conveyance Project trailer bills. Maven’s Notebook.
