GOP congressman call for injunction over water to be withdrawn

Governor Gavin Newsom had hoped litigation over the state’s water could be stopped. It hasn’t happened.

The litigation over the state’s water has continued as on April 22 State Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the expanded delivery of water to the Central Valley.

On Wednesday, several Republican Congressman in the state sent a letter to Governor Newsom calling for the motion for a preliminary injunction to be withdrawn.

In February the Trump administration announced new biological opinions in which water deliveries would be based on. The Trump administration also announced the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Valley Project would deliver water to Central California based on those biological opinions.

But the state sued over the new guidelines and Becerra filed his motion for a preliminary injunction to have the CVP immediately resume limited water deliveries based on the previous biological opinions while the lawsuit is litigated.

Becerra argues a preliminary injunction is needed to prevent “irreversible harm” in the effort to protect the Delta smelt, longfin smelt, salmon and threatened steelhead trout. But those in the San Joaquin Valley and others said the guidelines to pump more water out of the San Joaquin Delta River based on the new biological opinions is needed to meet the needs of farmers and others.

Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman issued the following statement in response to Becerra’s motion for a preliminary injunction:

“At no other time in modern history has the State of California taken such ill-founded actions to directly hurt more than 25 million Californians by unnecessarily jeopardizing their water supply. Now, more than ever, it is critical that water be reliably delivered to Americans, and we are taking actions to do that.”

The state and federal government remain in conflict over the use of the state’s water. On March 31, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife issued an Incidental Take Permit for long-term operations of the State Water Project which is more in line with voluntary water agreements the Newsom administration has been negotiating with local water agencies in the state. Democratic lawmakers favor the SWP’S approach.

This development runs parallel to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife issuance of an Incidental Take Permit (ITP) on March 31 to the Department of Water Resources for long-term operations of the State Water Project (SWP).

But the letter from Republican Congressman said the motion for the preliminary injunction is causing too much uncertainty and the distribution of water based on the biological opinions announced in February should move forward. The letter was signed by Kevin Mccarthy, Devin Nunes, Ken Calvert, Tom Mcclintock, Doug Lamalfa and Paul Cook, all Republican U.S. Congressmen in the state.

The Republican Congressman continued to call for the State Water Project and the CVP to

operate in a coordinated manner as they have for decades. The letter states:

“The preliminary injunction that your Administration is pursuing, if successful, will deny tens of millions of Californians, including those who live in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, and San Diego, the water they depend on to live and thrive.”

They added in the letter a preliminary injunction would jeopardize the San Joaquin Valley’s agricultural industry.

The Congressman also told Newsom in their letter its their understanding he has ignored proposals from SWP contractors designed to address the state’s concerns with the new federal biological opinions. They also criticized Newsom for not having any substative dialogue with the federal government since mid-february.

The letter also actually credited the Obama administration with work that had been done on managing the state’s water and that work would be undone.

“Make no mistake – if your Administration is successful with its motion for a preliminary injunction this week, it will have singlehandedly undone years of work – started by the Obama Administration – to bring new science and data to bear on California water policy decision-making that will

directly adversely impact the Californians we all represent by denying them the water they need.”

The letter went on to call for the Newsom administration “to issue a consistency determination for the SWP so the SWP and CVP can once against be operated in harmony to fulfill our State’s water needs. Without changing course, your Administration’s actions will ensure years of litigation and water supply uncertainty.”