DiFi and Big Water - Westlands Water Goes Rogue

[ensho]

http://counterpunch.com/bacher03092010.html


Westlands Water District, the largest water district in the nation, has "gone rogue," quitting the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), according to the Planning and Conservation League's "PCL Insider" published on March 5.

-snip-

Westlands, the biggest federal water customer in California, is regarded as the "Darth Vader" of California water districts by environmentalists, California Indian Tribes, fishing groups and those seeking to restore collapsing Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations and the thousands of jobs that they have historically supported. The district over the decades has filed lawsuit after lawsuit to block the restoration of the Trinity, Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and California Delta.

The District officially described their withdrawal from the association as a "financial decision," saying the District needs to focus its resources on lawsuits against fish and wildlife protections in the Delta, and can no longer afford the $19,000 annual membership fee.

However, in a February 3rd letter to ACWA's leadership, Westlands President Jean P. Sagouspe made it clear that ACWA's politics are the problem, complaining that ACWA's policies no longer represent Westlands or further its interests. Sagoupse criticized Tim Quinn, ACWA Executive Director, for advocating policies and making statements that conflict with Westlands' interests.

-snip-

"In contrast, Westlands Water District has shown disregard for important scientific information about the Delta ecosystems and impatience with public negotiations, striking deals with powerful politicians behind closed doors and aggressively pursuing a litigious rather than collaborative approach. While such tactics are hard to legitimize within a large association of water agencies, they may be easier to pursue solo. If successful, they could prove disastrous for California's economy and environment," PCL concluded.

Westlands Seeks Permit to Pollute Drinking Water

Westlands is also "going rogue" in seeking a permit to pollute the drinking water supply for millions of Californians with its tainted groundwater, according to a coalition of environmental, fishing and tribal groups.

-snip-

Westlands And Feinstein Wage War on Salmon, Fishermen

-snip-

Among the many administrative, legal and legislative attacks against salmon, the environment and West Coast fishing jobs that Feinstein, Westlands and Resnick have launched, the following stand out:

• Feinstein and Westlands have continually campaigned for a peripheral canal around the California Delta, a $23 billion to $53.8 billion project. Environmentalists, fishermen and California Indian Tribes oppose the peripheral canal, since it is not only enormously expensive, but it likely to seal the doom of imperiled Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations.

• At the urging of agribusiness giant Stewart Resnick, Feinstein pressured the Obama administration to review the court-ordered biological opinions for Delta smelt and Central Valley salmon at a special meeting of the National Academy of Sciences in January. Since this opinion was initiated under the Bush administration, this objectively puts Feinstein and the Obama administration to the environmental right of the Bush regime!

• Feinstein, at the behest of the Westlands, recently sponsored an amendment to the jobs bill that would strip protections for Delta fish and Central Valley salmon and increase the pumping of water from the Delta. Although Feinstein decided to put the amendment on hold after the federal government announced that it would release more water to west side growers because of improved snowpack, there is no doubt that she will try again to push her legislation through the Senate and House.

• Finally, in a poorly-written op-ed in the Sacramento Bee Feinstein, imitating talk show host Sean Hannity and Governor Schwarzenegger, tried to falsely portray the campaign to restore the Delta and Central Valley salmon fishing jobs and a conflict between "fish and jobs."
-snip with video-
---------------------------


water wars heat up

[ensho]

1. I thought DUers would be interested in DiFi's latest?

Californians don't mind drinking tainted water?

[Canuckistanian]

2. K&R

California had better smarten up about their water resources. The coming climate changes are going to make the situation catastrophic if water management is left to commercial interests only.

[XemaSab]

3. Westlands has been buying fishing clubs along some of the best trout streams

in northern California.

Now what would a central California water district want with a fishing club on the McCloud River? :think:

[ensho]

4. good question. why?

nt

[MattBaggins]

5. Shut them down and then claim that no one is fishing the waters any way.

[XemaSab]

6. I'm glad you asked that

They're a big force behind the push to raise Shasta Dam, and this project would destroy miles of good trout fishing.

Buying out the clubs just takes potential opponents out of the picture.