As Drought Persists, Pressure Is on Central Valley Lawmakers
Taryn Luntz
Los Angeles Times
12/16/2009
As California's Central Valley endures its third straight year of drought, lawmakers from the farm-heavy region are under intense pressure to overturn federal rules that protect endangered fish but restrict water for farmers.
Key Central Valley lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have grown more vocal on the topic this year, all voting on at least one occasion to block a federal biological opinion that limits water to the area.
But the Democrats, who are from conservative districts, find themselves in an uncomfortable position in the increasingly partisan debate: alienate the farmers who voted for them, or anger the environmental groups that make up their party's base.
"On one hand, politicians in the Central Valley want a water policy that aids agriculture," said John Pitney, a professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College in California. "But the Democrats need to look over their shoulder at the party's national leadership, which takes a different view of these issues."
Farmers blame the water restrictions for worsening the effects of the drought and exacerbating conditions that have led to 40 percent unemployment in some parts of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region.
Environmental groups say farmers are exaggerating how much water has been restricted due to the Endangered Species Act provisions, and that the pump limits are needed to restore the over-used delta to ecological health and shore up endangered salmon and delta smelt.
"All of the political pressure to waive the ESA protection for these species is as much about getting rid of the ESA as it is about water in the Central Valley," said Christina Swanson, executive director of the Bay Institute in California. "It's a red herring, no pun intended."
The main culprit is the drought, Swanson said, and the state's persistent mismanagement of water that wrecks the delta ecosystem.
But Robert Silva, mayor of the Central Valley city of Mendota, said the trouble among his constituents is real, and any water helps.
"Eighty-five percent of the jobs in Mendota are related to agriculture," Silva said. "When the water got cut off, we had 40 percent unemployment last winter, and that really happened.
"We need things to happen now, because farmers in this area, a lot of them are going to go extinct," Silva added. "They're going to go out of business if we don't get something early next year for their planting season."
Central Valley Democrats have proposed several measures to alleviate their constituents' plight, including a bill that would speed voluntary water transfers between some water districts and one that would waive the state and local cost-share for water projects.
But the measures do not target the biological opinions that have drawn the ire of the area's agricultural community.
A bill (pdf) proposed last month by Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.) calls for a "reconsultation" of the biological opinions to assess all of the factors affecting delta fish but stops short of demanding a waiver of the Endangered Species Act restrictions.
"I haven't looked at the details of the bill yet," said Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), ranking member of the Water and Power Subcommittee. "But I've been told that though it's a step in the right direction, it doesn't solve the basic problem."
Central Valley Democrats have on occasion backed stronger measures proposed by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the main agitator on the issue in the House.
In June, both Cardoza and Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) voted for a Nunes amendment to an appropriations bill that would prevent new water restrictions from taking effect.
The provision failed by a narrow margin of 208-218 after Cardoza worked to secure votes from conservative Democrats.
Cardoza and Costa also joined Republicans in October in voting against a San Francisco Bay area water recycling bill by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), an avid supporter of environmental issues and key ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) (E&E Daily, Oct. 16).
Central Valley lawmakers said they targeted the bill because they were riled that the Rules Committee blocked them from offering delta-related amendments to the measure on the floor. The bill ultimately passed by a largely party line vote of 241-173.
The votes demonstrate the tricky political situation facing Central Valley Democrats, Pitney said.
