Committee Does Bidding of Central Valley Agribusiness in Pushing for Canal

Clearly, the Delta Vision Committee, Governor Schwarzenegger, and the Department of Water Resources, all of whom have ignored or co-opted the comments, questions, and facts presented by in-Delta interests throughout the various Delta Vision stakeholder and community meetings, have made it clear that they first and foremost represent the interests of San Joaquin Valley agri-business.

While the Delta Vision Committee calls for large-scale habitat restoration within the Delta and per-capita water reduction of 20% as part of its "green appeal," urban water agencies in southern California's major metropolitan areas are moving towards self- sufficiency without the peripheral canal. And more importantly, if water quality and quantity is not sufficient to restore Delta waterways, it does not matter how much habitat restoration is completed. First and foremost, fish need water.

In a December radio address, President-elect Obama made it clear that supporting science is not just a matter of providing funding for research, but creating a climate where open and truthful inquires can be made. He said, "The highest purpose of science is the search for truth and understanding."

Unfortunately, the Delta Vision process, as exemplified in the Committee's report, has not been a process through which truthful inquiries could be made and answered. The process has failed to discover how much fresh water is needed to pass through the Delta to protect and restore the estuary. The Delta Vision process has served as a front for Governor's Schwarzenegger's goal of moving northern California water to the southern part of the state - at the expense of Delta fisheries and Delta communities. Without a doubt, construction of the peripheral canal would create a hellish tyranny for the people of the Delta.

With a $45 billion deficit looming over the state - which the Governor has yet to solve -- it is unbelievable that the Governor and the Delta Vision Committee could be carrying water for a $12 to $24 billion irrigation plan to benefit selenium loaded agricultural lands that do not drain properly.

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Campaign Coordinator, Restore the Delta

Hey Barbara!

You have done a superb analysis of the Delta Vision Committee’s proposal to break ground on the peripheral canal by 2011 without legislative or voter approval. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who starred as a villain in the Terminator and other action flicks during his movie career, has started the New Year playing the role of the “Fish Terminator” by stepping up his campaign to build this enormously costly and environmentally devastating project.

The ultimate irony of this proposal is that it is designed to convert much of the Delta into salt and brackish water marsh “habitat” by taking some of the most fertile alluvial soil on the face of the planet out of agricultural production - in order to irrigate drainage-impaired toxic soil on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley that should have been taken out of production years ago! Why are the Governor and his “advisors” willing to destroy Delta farming and fisheries and the northern California economy to provide subsidized water to corporate agribusiness on land that should have never been farmed?

Dan Bacher is an editor of The Fish Sniffer , described as "The #1 Newspaper in the World Dedicated Entirely to Fishermen"