The following is a news release on CalChamber’s position for better water storage options in a new bond proposal from the state’s Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water:
The Senate Natural Resources Committee yesterday (Feb. 11) voted to repeal the existing 2014 water bond and replace it with a $6.5 billion Delta-centric water bond with limited storage funds that must be appropriated by the Legislature.
INADEQUATE FUNDING
The CalChamber supported the 2009 water package, which included an $11.14 billion water bond. In a letter to Senate Natural Resources and Water, the CalChamber stressed that while current economics require a smaller bond to have a better chance at succeeding, the storage amount of $1 billion dollars is not adequate—the $3 billion in the original bond was barely adequate.
“It is essential to get new storage built as expeditiously as possible,” CalChamber Policy Advocate Valerie Nera said in the letter. “Current infrastructure and facilities are unable to capture excess water in wet years to hedge against dry years. Much-needed water flows out the gates to the ocean while many communities struggle with shortages. New storage is imperative to provide relief for environmental issues and workability for current water system operations.”
TROUBLING LANGUAGE
The CalChamber adds that the lack of the continuous appropriations language in the bill is troubling. A continuous appropriation of storage dollars provides more certainty that new storage projects will come on line more quickly. The criteria surrounding storage outlined in the bill creates more burdens for project proponents, some of which may be unattainable, thus slowing or stopping any meaningful storage projects from going forward.
KEY VOTE
SB 848 (Wolk; D-Davis) passed the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee on February 11 6-0.
Ayes: Evans (D-Santa Rosa), Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), Lara (D-Bell Gardens), Monning (D-Carmel), Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), Wolk (D-Davis).
No Vote Recorded: Cannella (R-Ceres), Fuller (R-Bakersfield), Hueso (D-Logan Heights)
The bill will next be heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. No hearing date has been set.
