Although
I’ll be in Washington, I hope there will be a good turnout at the water rally
slated for tomorrow at 6:30 pm at Tulare’s International Agri-Center. I was
surprised, however, to see that the event’s sponsors include Friant Water
Authority and other groups that have not supported H.R. 3964, which
is the only California water bill this Congress has passed in either the House
or the Senate. As the event flyer
makes clear, a zero-allocation in the East Side is a major problem – so
why don’t these groups back the one bill that will finally resolve the water
crisis?
Let’s
take a short stroll down memory lane: here
is a letter I sent to Friant farmers in 2008 casting doubt on Friant’s
claim that the San Joaquin River Settlement would provide water “certainty” and
end litigation by environmental activists. (Yes, Friant lawyers and lobbyists
actually made that argument.) And here
is a letter I sent earlier this year reminding farmers that Friant did not
support the previous House-passed water bill, H.R. 1837.
It’s
possible that Friant will be persuaded at tomorrow’s rally to support the House
bill or to finally reveal its own proposed solution to the water crisis – but I
doubt it. (If you missed them, you can see clips of me arguing for H.R. 3964 on
the House floor here.)
We
could really use allies who stand up and fight for Central Valley water rights
– because we’re not only battling the left-wing politicians, and the
environmentalist activists, and the lawyers, and the judges, and the
bureaucrats, but the media, too. Here’s
a great example: a supposed news story by the L.A. Times essentially
advocating the confiscation of all our remaining water. It reads like a press
release from the National Resources Defense Council.
As
shown in the past, attempts to appease these radicals don’t work – those
efforts always end up with us getting less water. The only option left is to
fight. And for me, the fight goes on – as it does for countless thirsty
families and farmers throughout the Valley.
