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Aguanomics blog: Huffman & his position on property rights for water

Posted by: Maven on October 19, 2009 at 8:03 am

From David Zetland at the Aguanomics blog:

“Last week, Jared Huffman, member of the California Assembly and Chair of the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee, gave an excellent talk on “Resolving the Delta Crisis.” Huffman is a “card carrying environmentalist” who worked to restore flows in the San Joaquin River as a NRDC lawyer.

[Click through to the Aguanomics blog for links to the audio files for Huffman's introduction and presentation.]

These are a few highlights:

* The Department of Water Resources is indeed a captive organization, serving the needs of the State Water Project contractors over those of the people of California. Huffman says that “some people” are indeed considering spinning off the SWP to contractors so that DWR can get back to managing the State’s resources for the public good. The interesting question is “on what terms.” I recently learned that the SWP has about $1 billion in outstanding debt. Theoretically, SWP contractors will “own” the facility once that amount is paid off, but what would happen if the State declares the debt “paid” and then puts the SWP up for sale to the highest bidder? …”

Read more from the Aguanomics blog by clicking here.

October 19, 2009 · Filed Under Water Rights

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