The legislature should reject the governor’s proposal. Instead, California should pursue less expensive alternatives that would safeguard our main water supply system without causing great harm to it.
Op-Eds

McNerney: Legislature should reject governor’s plan to fast-track Delta tunnel project

The farmland in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta area contains some of the richest soil in the nation. In fact, more than 80% of Delta farmland is classified as “prime” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture — considered the most fertile in California. 

But a substantial portion of that prime Delta farmland and the historic and cultural resources surrounding it are now facing a serious threat, because Gov. Gavin Newsom is plowing ahead with his plan to construct a costly and destructive water tunnel directly through the heart of the Delta.

On May 14, the governor proposed to fast-track the tunnel project via the 2025-26 state budget. The governor is proposing to greatly streamline environmental and judicial reviews of the tunnel project and allow the Department of Water Resources to issue whatever massive amount of bond debt is required to pay for the tunnel, which is currently estimated to cost at least $20 billion. 

The legislature should reject the governor’s proposal. Instead, California should pursue less expensive alternatives that would safeguard our main water supply system without causing great harm to it.

 

For the full op-ed, click here.