Posted February 10, 2014
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to
provide emergency drought relief in California, according to an Agri-Pulse
article available here.
H.R.
3964, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery Act, would
repeal some of California’s authority over its Central Valley, “rolling back
the Central Valley Project Improvement and the Endangered Species Act in vital
water areas.”
The bill would: turn on the Delta pumps this year and
next year to capture future rain events; end restoration flows in the San
Joaquin River for this year and next year in order to stop wasting water; and
establish a bipartisan, emergency joint committee from the House and Senate to devise
a long-term legislative solution.
The legislation has reignited long-standing controversy
over water distribution. Republicans
blamed Washington environmental policies for the water shortage, bringing
photos of fish to the House floor to argue that fish were being put ahead of
farmers, according to an article by the LA Times available here.
“We have listened to the environmental left for 4-
years, and this is where it’s gotten us,” said Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Elk
Grove).
Democrats said the problem is a lack of rain. “It would be more productive for this body to
join in a rain dance on the floor today than to pass this bill,” said Mike
Thompson (D-St. Helena).
The White House said that if the bill makes it through
the Senate, President Obama’s advisors will recommend a veto because it would,
“disrupt decades of work that supports building consensus, solution, and
settlements that equitably address some of California’s most complex water
challenges.”
For more information on water law, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
