Feinstein Introduces Revised Drought Relief Bill

Statement

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today introduced the California Long-Term Provisions for Water Supply and Short-Term Provisions for Emergency Drought Relief Act (S.2533), an updated bill to provide both long- and short-term solutions to the historic drought in California.

"The Central Valley Project and the State Water Project are the two key systems that move water from Northern California to Southern California--both were largely completed by the 1970s, when 16 million people lived in California. Today, the state is home to 40 million people, but we have essentially the same water system we had four decades ago.

"Projects to store additional water in reservoirs and create new water through recycling and desalination have fallen woefully behind. Investments in these vital projects have lagged, which means communities and businesses throughout the state have felt the water pinch.

"Finally, the biological opinions adopted several years ago to govern when and how much water can be moved through the water systems don't reflect the most recent science. More water could safely be pumped during high-rainfall periods like winter storms, while continuing to protect fish if we were to employ regular monitoring of water turbidity and locations of fish.

"Failure to apply this updated science means that extra water from high river flows--as we're seeing during the current El Niño--is flowing into the ocean, water that could instead be safely pumped and stored for later use.

"There's no question that the drought has resulted in significant human suffering, from lost jobs to dried-up wells to families forced from their homes.

"That's why we need congressional action, and we need it now. California signaled that it's ready by enacting a $7.5 billion water bond. It's time Washington followed suit.

"Drafting this bill has been difficult, probably the hardest bill I've worked on in my 23 years in the Senate. But it's important, and that's why we've been working so hard, holding dozens and dozens of meetings and revising the bill over and over again to incorporate feedback from stakeholder groups.

"The revised bill I'm introducing today is the product of two years of work. It includes provisions from Democrats and Republicans alike. It reflects input from environmental groups, water districts, state agencies, cities, rural communities, fishermen, and the agricultural industry. There was also an extensive consultation process with federal agencies, all of which agree that the bill remains consistent with the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and the biological opinions. This has been an open process, and I believe this bill is the best we can do.

"This bill won't be everything for everyone--candidly, that's not possible with California water policy. But I believe the bill strikes the right balance. It invests $1.3 billion in defined long-term projects while making targeted, temporary changes to water operations that only last for the length of the drought or two years, whichever is longer, and which do not violate environmental laws.

"Where we found opposition to the bill, it was most frequently with groups that want no legislation at all. But as a senator who represents the entire state of California, inaction is simply not an option.

"I recognize that any bill in the Republican-led House will be far more aggressive on the short-term operational provisions and downplay the long-term provisions. But such a bill would never pass the Senate. What has become clear is that each region of the state and each stakeholder group has its own vested interest, and this makes consensus extraordinarily difficult.

"The lesson is that we need a balanced bill that will help us get through the current drought and make long-term investments to modernize our water infrastructure and prepare for future droughts. And that's what this bill does.

"I'm hopeful that Chairman Lisa Murkowski and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell will hold a markup on this bill and the Senate will take it up for debate. The West is counting on us, and it's time we take real action."

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