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At House Natural Resources Committee hearing, Congressmen plead for more water for California farmers; request emergency suspension of the ESA

Posted by: Maven on April 1, 2009 at 6:48 am

From the San Jose Mercury News:

Displaying a bowl of minnows and pictures of unemployed farm workers and their families, California congressmen pleaded with their colleagues Tuesday to make an emergency exception to the federal Endangered Species Act.

The lawmakers said efforts to protect a 3-inch-long fish, the delta smelt, have led to court-ordered reductions in the amount of water pumped to some farmers in the San Joaquin Valley, leading to fallowed fields and skyrocketing unemployment. They said even as a drought enters its third year, there is enough water in California to share with the valley’s thousands of farms. Their proposal would increase the diversion of water for those farms.

In 2007, a federal judge ordered federal and state water authorities to reduce the amount of water they pump through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in a bid to protect the delta smelt. The finger-length fish is considered a bellwether for the health of the delta, the heart of California’s water-delivery system.

Speaking before the House Natural Resources Committee, several of the state’s lawmakers discounted the drought as the reason for the San Joaquin Valley’s lack of water. Rather, they said it was a matter of priorities, with the government valuing fish over families.

Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Atwater, said thousands of families were moving out of his district. He called the exodus the “Dust Bowl migration in reverse.” Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, said the unemployment rate in his district is nearly 20 percent and is nearing 50 percent in some communities.

“We’re not asking for a billion-dollar bailout. We’re aren’t even asking for one single dollar,” Nunes said. “All we need is for this committee to move emergency legislation which would allow the delta pumps to return to historic export levels.” Without such action, the economic devastation will only grow worse, he said.

Read more from the San Jose Mercury News by clicking here.

From McClatchy Newspapers:

Under questioning, the Obama administration’s top irrigation official agreed it’s possible some economic stimulus funds may be used for drought relief in California. One billion dollars in Bureau of Reclamation funds provided under an economic stimulus plan will be distributed by the end of April, acting Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Bill McDonald said. “The conditions occurring in California require decisive, forceful actions by government,” McDonald agreed.

Republicans and Democrats alike urged McDonald to fund the so-called “Two Gates Project,” a $26.5 million plan to install two temporary gates in the central Delta that would reduce the loss of fish and thereby minimize water export restrictions. McDonald did not commit his agency one way or another on any particular project.

Separately, the Bureau of Reclamation is offering money for temporary pumps, emergency wells and other drought-alleviating measures.

A federal Drought Action Team, first announced a month ago by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, was to have its first formal meeting Tuesday afternoon, McDonald told the House panel.

“Things have moved forward, although the team hasn’t met as such,” McDonald said.

Read more from McClatchy Newspapers by clicking here.

Congressman Nunes apparently made history by bringing a bowl of rainbow smelt, a distant cousin of the Delta smelt, to the hearing:

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) apparently made some sort of congressional history Tuesday when he asked the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power Oversight for “unanimous consent to submit these fish for the record.” And then he handed the fishbowl to subcommittee Chairwoman Grace F. Napolitano (D-Calif.).

Submitting fish into committee records is apparently a first.

Read more from Politico by clicking here.

April 1, 2009 · Filed Under Delta Issues, Wildlife & Endangered Species

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