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Friday’s top of the scroll: House narrowly rejects bid to nullify salmon protection rules

Posted by: Maven on June 19, 2009 at 8:08 am

From the Silicon Valley Mercury News:

The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly rejected an attempt Thursday by a San Joaquin Valley congressman to set aside regulations adopted this month to protect salmon and killer whales from the operations of dams and pumps in California.

The move was an attempt to strike back at increasingly tough rules that are cutting into farmers’ water supplies after nearly a decade of relatively unfettered access to Delta water. As water deliveries from the Delta increased, fish populations collapsed and courts have since found that regulators were not doing their jobs.

Introduced by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, the measure would have prevented the National Marine Fisheries Service from spending money to enforce its sweeping new rules issued earlier this month. It failed by a vote of 218-208.

“Environmentalists are tripping over themselves to preserve every species that crawls, squirms, swims or flies, but they are content to let humans die. And now they have a government that agrees with them,” Nunes said on the eve of Thursday’s narrow vote.

From the Fresno Bee:

Still, Nunes and his allies insist they put a useful spotlight on a region they believe has been ignored too long.

“It’s OK to value fish, that’s OK,” Nunes said during House debate, “but understand you’re starving families while you value fish.”

The vote Thursday was closer than some expected, with 37 Democrats joining most Republicans in supporting Nunes. Democratic Reps. Jim Costa of Fresno and Dennis Cardoza of Merced voted for the amendment, with Cardoza using his House Rules Committee position to ensure the amendment got a vote on the floor.

From Doug Obegi of the NRDC Switchboard blog:

Today’s action in Washington is a reminder of the failures and costs of our current water practices in California, and the need for real solutions, particularly as our third year of drought continues to cause water reductions across the state, which have particularly hurt farmers in the Central Valley. As drought continues to cause low water supplies across the state, this highlights just how important it is to develop long term water solutions that benefit all Californians. Scientifically sound decisions like the salmon biological opinion that this amendment targeted must be part of the foundation for that solution. And while California has made some significant investments in alternative water supplies and win-win solutions, including federal investments from the stimulus bill, it’s time for a new, better, smart-water solutions for the 21st century that will help all Californians get the water they need for drinking, fishing and growing our food supply into the future.

Congressman Devin Nunes responds on his website:

“Environmentalists are tripping over themselves to preserve every species that crawls, squirms, swims or flys but they are content to let humans die. And now they have a government that agrees with them. This Congress and our President have chosen fish over people in my state,” said Rep. Devin Nunes.

It has been 629 days since Congressman Nunes first asked Democrat Congressional leaders to respond to the water crisis facing California. Despite the clear evidence of suffering, un-paralleled unemployment rates and the looming destruction of San Joaquin Valley communities, no assistance has been offered. Indeed, in a recent trip to California the Secretary of Interior specifically avoided visiting the impacted region.

“It’s time to ask the Speaker ‘how many studies do you need? How many starving families and devastated communities will it take to get your attention?’ We need Congress to do its job. This government is failing to uphold its Constitutional oath to the people and I will not stop fighting until the voices of my constituents are heard,” said Rep. Nunes.

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June 19, 2009 · Filed Under Wildlife & Endangered Species

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