SF Gate
Brown says critics of delta tunnels should 'shut up’
Updated 5:45 pm, Wednesday, May 6, 2015
SACRAMENTO — During a candid and sarcastic speech to water agency officials Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown said critics of the controversial delta tunnels project should “shut up” unless they’ve logged 1 million hours like the state has to study the plan.
“Until you put a million hours into it, shut up,” Brown said to laughter during a speech at a Association of California Water Agencies conference in Sacramento on Wednesday. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Or maybe they just wasted their time? As government they sit there and play tiddledywinks or whatever the hell they do. No, these are serious people and let’s assume they wasted a quarter of the time. They were on their cell phones. That’s still 750,000 (hours).”
While his remarks earned applause from the water agencies association, they drew quick ire from tunnel critics who say they too have logged a million hours to show the project would be harmful.
“We won’t go away. We won’t shut up,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parilla, executive director of Restore the Delta. “The governor when he ignores the voice of the people we will just speak louder. We can’t stand by and watch this project move forward because it will destroy the most important estuary on the West Coast of America.”