Newsom should kill off his zombie Delta tunnel plan

Gov. Gavin Newsom's decision Monday to concede defeat in fast-tracking the Delta tunnel raised hopes that the $16 billion boondoggle was, at long last, dead.

Californians should be so lucky.

This a project that has never penciled out, wouldn't add a drop of new water to California's supply and would be an environmental disaster for the largest estuary west of the Mississippi. Yet Newsom, like former governors Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger before him, keeps seeking ways to keep it alive. It's the zombie water project that state officials won't let die. Be very afraid.

Newsom's latest effort was part of an 11-bill legislative package that the governor waited until May 19 to unveil, knowing that it would move through the Legislature without the sort of scrutiny major projects such as the Delta tunnel deserve. Newsom sought to limit the timelines for environmental litigation and simplify the permitting process for the Delta tunnel, along with other coveted transportation, energy and infrastructure projects.

The governor's frustration over how long it takes to push forward with major building efforts is understandable. The California Environmental Quality Act has routinely been used and abused to stop or delay worthwhile projects.

But the Delta tunnel doesn't fall into that category. Not by a long shot.

It would further undermine the health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the hub of California's water supply, providing fresh water to two-thirds of the state's residents — including one-third of the Bay Area — and millions of acres of farmlands.

It also provides habitat critical to the survival of many fish and wildlife species, including salmon and sandhill cranes.

Preserving the Delta's health for current and future generations should be one of the state's top priorities. Newsom claims to be an environmentalist. But California has, with the governor's blessing, been pumping so much water from the Delta to irrigate the Central Valley's almond and pistachio orchards that the estuary's health is in sharp decline.

Scientific studies have for years called on California to pump less water south in order to preserve the Delta's health. The tunnel would add to the pressure to take more water from the Sacramento River.

The governor's plan, which would take a projected 20 years to complete, calls for a 45-mile long, 39-foot high tunnel beginning near the town of Courtland and running under the Delta's wetlands and marshes. It could carry 6,000 cubic feet per second — or roughly enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool every 30 seconds.

Challenging digging projects like this are notorious for cost-overruns. Boston's Big Dig was only 3.5 miles long and the original price tag of $2.6 billion grew to a staggering $14.8 billion by the time it was completed.

The better way to improve the Delta's long-term future involves repurposing some of the Central Valley's croplands for non-agricultural uses. A Union of Concerned Scientists report in May said that taking waterthirsty crops out of production and instead investing in clean industries and clean energy, such as solar power generation and battery storage, would provide more and better-paying jobs for the region. A move in that direction also would lead to better health for residents and additional clean drinking water for communities, restore aquifers and relieve pressure to pump more water from the Delta.

Instead, the governor continues to do Big Ag's bidding in the Central Valley as it helps finance his political ambitions. For example, Stewart and Lynda Resnick, whose orchards produce more almonds and pistachios than those of any other landowners in California, donated $314,800 to the Stop the Republican Recall of Gov. Newsom and Newsom for California Governor 2022 campaigns. It's likely to get worse. Newsom's apparent presidential ambitions will require winning the favor of ag interests throughout the Midwest, starting in Iowa.

It's time to kill the Delta tunnel project before it further corrupts California's politics and damages the state's water supply.