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Bad News: AB 1806 Dies in Senate
by Dan Bacher, editor of the Fish Sniffer
August 14, 2008.-- Sacramento -- Yesterday the California Senate failed
to pass AB 1806, the landmark bill by Assemblymember Lois Wolk (D-Davis)
that would have required the state and federal Delta export pumping
operations to fully mitigate for the damage they have caused to
fisheries.
The bill would have required fish rescue contingency plans in the event
of future fishery disasters like the one that took place at Prospect
Island in the northern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in November 2007.
During last year's fish kill, thousands of striped bass, Sacramento
blackfish, Sacramento splittail, black bass, bluegill, catfish,
threadfin shad and other species perished after the Bureau of
Reclamation drained the island during a levee repair operation.
"Unfortunately, they just lifted the call and AB 1806 failed
passage on a vote of 18-21," said Diane Colborn, Staff Director for
the Water Parks and Wildlife Committee. "Reconsideration was
granted, but it does not look like we will be able to get the votes to
get the bill off the Senate floor."
Senator Florez also switched his vote from aye to no which brought it
down to 18 votes. "We tried to lobby the members to get the last
few votes, but unfortunately the fact that the bill went on call gave
the opposition more time to lobby members to move into the no
column," said Colborn.
John Beuttler, Conservation Director of the California Sportfishing
Protection Alliance (CSPA) expressed disgust when he heard the final
vote. Beuttler stated, "This bill was to be the beginning of the
delta fishery restoration process and would have provided funds for the
state's impacted salmon fishery. Its defeat is a slap in the face to
California's commercial and recreational anglers." Beuttler worked
with Wolk's office in the drafting of the bill and its introduction in
the State Assembly. Once introduced, CSPA mounted a letter campaign at
each stage of the bill's progress, in the Assembly Water, Parks and
Wildlife Committee, on the Assembly floor, at the Senate's Natural
Resources & Wildlife Committee and the Senate Appropriations
Committee. Beuttler of CSPA and other fisheries representatives
testified at many of the committee hearings.
Richard Pool, owner of Pro-Troll and organizer of the Water 4 Fish
campaign, was disappointed by the bill's defeat because it would have
been a major step forward in the restoration of Central Valley salmon
and steelhead and California Delta striped bass, delta smelt, longfin
smelt, threadfin shad, green sturgeon, white sturgeon, steelhead and
other species.
"We were counting on this bill as a funding mechanism for hundreds
of projects needed to recover salmon," said Pool. "In spite of
our successful efforts to move the bill through the Assembly and two
Senate Committees, in the end we were outgunned by the intense lobbying
of the water contractors and the administration. The bill is dead for
this year."
On a positive note, Pool said, "Do we give up? Absolutely not. We
come back next year better organized and with all the additional
grassroots firepower we can muster. We won’t give up until we get the
funding for mitigation and fish recovery. If you are as mad as we are,
take the action that will help the most - get everyone you know to sign
onto www.water4fish.org.
Click and send letters to the politicians and give us the powerful proxy
ammunition we can use."
AB 1806 passed through the Senate Appropriations Committee intact
without amendments on Thursday, August 7. The vote was 9-6 on a party
line vote, with all of the Democrats voting "aye" for the bill
and all of the Republicans voting "no."
Apparently, the Senate believes that mitigation for the millions of
salmon, steelhead, delta smelt, longfin smelt, threadfin shad, striped
bass killed by the operation of the Delta pumps every year is not
needed. Shame on all of the Republicans and on the
agribusiness-controlled Democrats like Florez that voted against the
bill!
The passage of this bill was particularly urgent in light of the closure
of commercial and recreational salmon fishing in ocean waters off
California and Oregon and recreational salmon fishing in Central Valley
rivers this year, spurred by the collapse of Sacramento River fall
chinook salmon populations. Although the Bush and Schwarzenegger
administrations blame "ocean conditions" for the collapse, a
coalition of fishing groups, Indian Tribes and conservationists points
to huge increases in water exports and a decline in water quality in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta as the major causes of the dramatic
fishery decline.
While Central Valley salmon populations are in a state of collapse, four
Delta pelagic (open water) fish species - delta smelt, longfin smelt,
juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad - have declined to their lowest
record population levels. A team of state and federal scientists have
pinpointed three major factors behind the decline: (1) increases in
Delta water exports in recent years, (2) toxics and (3) invasive
species. More recently, two scientific reports concluded that releases
of high concentrations of ammonia in treated sewage water by the city of
Sacramento may also be contributing to the decline.
The legislation was supported by the California Sportfishing Protection
Alliance, the Northern California Council of the Federation of Fly
Fishers, the California Striped Bass Association, the Recreational
Fishing Alliance, the Allied Fishing Groups, the American Sportfishing
Association, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations
and many regional fishing organizations. The Planning and Conservation
League, the National Resources Defense Council and other environmental
groups are also backing the bill.
The bill was opposed by a who’s who of corporate agriculture,
including the Westlands Water District, Friant Water Authority, Kern
County Water Agency, State Water Contractors, Inc. and the Valley Ag
Coalition. The Alameda County Water District, Association of
California Water Agencies, Santa Clara Valley Water District and
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California also opposed the
bill.
The fishing and environmental groups did a great job of pounding the
legislature with letter and phone calls in support of AB 1806. However,
the Senators who voted against the bill apparently considered the power
of big money to be more important than huge grassroots support for the
measure by a broad coalition of organizations.
For more information, go to www.calsport.org
or www.water4fish.org.