Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 09:44 AM PDT Governor Reveals True Intent of Prop. 1 - the Brown Water Plan by Dan BacherFollow 15 Comments / 15 New Water bond is closely allied with Delta tunnels After months of misrepresenting the true purpose of Proposition 1, Governor Jerry Brown inadvertently undermined his own message at a recent Stanford water conference, according to a statement from Prop. 1 opponents. Brown, one of the worst governors for fish, water and the environment in recent California history, claimed the measure would provide components missing from the State Water Project “enacted by my father.” These components, Brown ominously intoned, would “deal with the Delta.” Jerry Brown had attempted to “deal with the Delta” once before. That was during his first tenure as governor in the 1980s, when he tried to push through the Peripheral Canal, a fiscally irresponsible and environmentally destructive trans-Delta water conveyance scheme that was soundly rejected by voters. Opponents of Proposition 1 noted that the State Water Project constructed by Governor Pat Brown is nothing to boast about. “It has depleted North State Rivers, degraded the richest estuary on the west coast of the continental United States, encouraged unsustainable corporate agriculture on the toxic soils of the western San Joaquin Valley and provided zero water security for southern California ratepayers,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta and field director for No on Proposition 1. “In concert with the federal Central Valley Project, the State Water Project has brought the Delta to the precipice of ecological collapse. Meanwhile, the State Water Resources Control Board has handed out water rights that promise five times more water than is available in California. Now, the Governor is championing a proposition for dams that will provide minimal water storage at astronomical expense, and destroy what is left of our salmon fisheries. These aren’t legacies he should point to with pride.” Barrigan-Parrilla noted that Proposition 1 is closely allied to the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, a Brown scheme that is a reprise of the Peripheral Canal. The BDCP would authorize the construction of two gigantic trans-Delta tunnels that would devastate the Delta, cost $70 billion or more, and benefit corporate San Joaquin Valley farmers at the expense of citizen ratepayers. Brown appeared at the Stanford conference – inappropriately titled New Directions for U.S. Water Policy -- with representatives of Paramount Farms, a corporation that cultivates 165,000 acres of orchards in the San Joaquin Valley. Stewart Resnick, a close Brown confidant and Democratic Party fund-raiser, owns Paramount Farms. Resnick has made hundreds of millions of dollars exporting nut crops to China. He has used his wealth to great advantage, influencing state water policy through generous political contributions, including to Brown’s campaigns, according to Barrigan-Parrilla. “Brown’s master plan for California water is simple,” says Barrigan-Parrilla. “First, it’s about taking care of special corporate interests like Paramount Farms. Then it’s about sticking taxpayers with the bill. It benefits the governor’s cronies, but it certainly does nothing to secure the water security of average Californians.” Barrigan-Parrilla noted that voters must recognize the linkage between Proposition 1 and the BDCP, and reject both. “Voters should not be fooled. Proponents of Prop 1 may say the water bond is separate from building the twin Delta tunnels, which will devastate fisheries, family farms, and the five county Delta region. But the Governor does not see them as separate,” she observed. “Gov. Brown’s poor choices in water leadership through three terms have not protected Californians during this drought, and they will only assure future water crises. Prop. 1 mainly offers more infrastructure projects that will be bone dry during future droughts.” Opponents of Proposition 1 also criticized Gov. Brown for falsely claiming in his special-interest funded paid ad campaign that Prop. 1 has “nearly unanimous” support for public funding for water transfers to enrich huge agribusinesses, and to enable the biggest dam-building program in California history. “The governor falsely claims near unanimous support, but that just means he doesn’t pay attention to those who disagree with him,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla. “It’s insulting and false to make that claim.” The Cal Berkeley Democrats, Chico Conservation Voters, CREDO, Delta Fly Fishers Hoopa Valley Tribe, Progressive Democrats of Santa Monica Mountains, Northern California Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers and the Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of California recently joined the growing movement against Prop. 1. Below is an updated list of Prop. 1 opponents: AFSCME District Council 57 Ballona Institute Butte Environmental Council Cal Berkeley Democrats California Sportfishing Protection Alliance California Striped Bass Association California Water Impact Network Coast Action Group Center for Biological Diversity Central Delta Water Agency Chico Conservation Voters Concerned Citizens Coalition of Stockton CREDO Action Delta Fly Fishers Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) Environmental Water Caucus Factory Farm Awareness Coalition Friends Committee on Legislation of California Friends of the Eel River Friends of the River Food and Water Watch Foothill Conservancy Green Democratic Club of Sacramento County Hoopa Valley Tribe Northern California Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations Potrero Hill Democratic Club Progressive Democrats of Santa Monica Mountains Pulga Rancheria Concow Maidu Indians Restore the Delta Sacramento River Preservation Trust San Francisco Baykeeper San Francisco Crab Boat Association Save the American River Association Small Boat Commercial Salmon Fishermen’s Association Sherman Island Duck Hunters Association Sonoma County Conservation Action South Delta Water Agency Southern California Watershed Alliance Tar Sands Action Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of California Wetlands Defense Fund Wild Heritage Planners Winnemem Wintu Tribe For more information go to noonprop1.org
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 16:44:53 +0000
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