FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT: Alexandra Nagy, alexandra@sunstonestrategies.org, 818-633-0865
Statement from Restore the Delta on Newsom Administration’s Water Policy
Director of the California Department of Water Resources will work with Trump to weaken environmental protections for the Delta
Stockton, CA – Governor Newsom’s top water official, Karla Nemeth, has made it clear that the administration is willing to work with the Trump White House to weaken environmental rules and over-pump the Delta, setting the stage for its destruction.
As Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta, put it:
“Of course the Special Advisor to Governor Newsom on California water, Karla Nemeth, is promoting a plan with the Trump Administration to over pump the Delta and then finish it off with a tunnel. This has been the direction of her entire career, and fulfills campaign promises for Governor Newsom to his political donors in Kern County, Stewart and Lynda Resnick. Governor Newsom, like President Trump, is facilitating the biggest transfer of public health and environmental health by pitting one area of California against the other through water transfers. He is a divider, not a uniter.”
At a time when California’s water future should be guided by science and sustainability, Governor Newsom is instead prioritizing corporate interests over Delta communities, fisheries, and the environment. Partnering with Trump on water policy will only deepen existing inequities, accelerate ecological collapse, and put frontline communities and California Tribes at greater risk.
###