Home California House Democrats Support Non-profits’ Efforts to Get Answers on ‘WaterFix’ Tunnels Funding

House Democrats Support Non-profits’ Efforts to Get Answers on ‘WaterFix’ Tunnels Funding

by ECT

Washington – Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-09), along with Northern California House Reps. Jared Huffman (CA-02), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), Doris Matsui (CA-06), Mike Thompson (CA-05), and John Garamendi (CA-03), sent a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in support of the efforts of four statewide non-profit organizations, looking for answers about the Bureau’s funding and federal assistance grants to the California Department of Water Resources to support Governor Jerry Brown’s “WaterFix” tunnels plan.

The non-profit organizations include: the Planning and Conservation League, the Southern California Watershed Alliance, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and the California Water Impact Network. You can read their original letter to the Bureau of Reclamation here.

Full text of the Congressional letter:

February 18, 2016

David Murillo, Regional Director
Mid Pacific Regional Office
Bureau of Reclamation
Federal Office Building
2800 Cottage Way
Sacramento CA 95825-1898

Dear Mr. Murillo:

Thank you for your efforts in managing very challenging water supply allocations in California over the span of the drought. We support the collaborative approach between federal and state agencies, but we remain concerned with the level of federal participation in Governor Jerry Brown’s “WaterFix” tunnels plan. We must diligently vet an incredibly expensive, major water infrastructure project especially when our constituents will be affected for years to come and many of our questions about the plan remain unanswered.

We recently sent a letter to Governor Brown outlining our concerns regarding premature allocations of state funding to the WaterFix plan. We support the attached statewide non-profit constituent letter that seeks to find answers to important questions raised about Bureau of Reclamation’s funding and federal assistance grants to the California Department of Water Resources in support of the Waterfix Tunnels Plan. We request that your agency provide answers to the attached letter in a timely manner so that we can more accurately address our constituents’ concerns.

Thank you for your attention to this request.

Mark DeSaulnier
John Garamendi
Jared Huffman
Doris Matsui
Jerry McNerney
Mike Thompson

In January of this year, these same Northern California House Democrats sent a letter to Governor Jerry Brown regarding his budget proposal as it relates to the “WaterFix” tunnels plan. Specifically, the letter asked how the $3.6 million allocation will be used, and requests a more detailed discussion with the Brown administration as to why budgetary funding was deemed necessary for the regulatory review of the WaterFix tunnels at this time.

Rep. McNerney, whose district contains a majority of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, has long opposed Governor Brown’s tunnels, an ill-advised plan that would devastate the Delta’s fragile ecosystem and hurt families, farmers, and businesses in the region.

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Rep. Jerry McNerney proudly serves the constituents of California’s 9th Congressional District that includes portions of San Joaquin, Contra Costa, and Sacramento Counties. For more information on Rep. McNerney’s work, follow him on Facebook and on Twitter @RepMcNerney.

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