CSPA has carefully reviewed the provisions of Assembly Bill 1471, Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, which is on the 4 November 2014 ballot as Proposition 1, Water Bond, and concludes that it represents a grave and insidious threat to core environmental values and principles buttressing protection for fisheries and the environment. Furthermore, the Bond paves the way for a new era of dam building, is a pork-filled barrel of special interest subsidies, provides no near-term drought relief and is fiscally irresponsible.
CSPA joins the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Restore the Delta, Center for Biological Diversity, California Water Impact Network, Food & Water Watch, Southern California Watershed Alliance and numerous other fishing and environmental organizations in opposing Proposition 1.
Specifically, CSPA opposes the Water Bond because it: undermines the public trust doctrine, undermines the principle of beneficiary pays, undermines the principle that projects should mitigate adverse impacts, ushers in a new era of big dams, is a backdoor subsidy for BDCP’s tunnels, provides little cost-effective near-term drought relief, eliminates public oversight, crowds out other critical investments, is fiscally irresponsible and is a hogfest of projects unrelated to water supply or drought relief.
The new No on Prop 1 website is still under construction but can be found at www.noonprop1.org. CSPA’s Statement of Opposition to Proposition 1 is below.