AJR 35 Assembly Joint Resolution

BILL NUMBER: AJR 35	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Fuller

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   Relative to public resources.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 35, as introduced, Fuller. Two-Gates Fish Protection
Demonstration Project.
   This measure would request the United States Department of the
Interior to reconsider its decision to abandon implementation of the
Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project and to restart the
series of meetings designed to result in completion of the necessary
environmental review and engineering design to construct the
Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project in 2010, and would
respectfully request Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer,
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, and all other
members of the California congressional delegation to request the
United States Department of the Interior to restart its involvement
in the Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project with the goal
of completing the necessary environmental review and engineering
design to construct the Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration
Project in 2010.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, California is in the midst of a three-year drought that
is having a severe impact on California's ability to provide water to
its citizens, businesses, and farms and threatens to extend into a
fourth year in 2010; and
   WHEREAS, The federal government issued biological opinions in 2008
and 2009 to protect the endangered Delta smelt and salmon that live
in or migrate through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; and
   WHEREAS, The restrictions imposed by the biological opinions
severely restrict operation of the State Water Project's Harvey O.
Banks Pumping Plant and the federal water project's C.W. "Bill" Jones
Pumping Plant by limiting the amount of water that can be moved from
state and federal storage reservoirs located north of the Delta to
California's citizens, businesses, and farms south of the Delta in
the San Joaquin Valley and southern California; and
   WHEREAS, Under the restrictions imposed by the biological
opinions, the State Water Project was allocated just 40 percent of
its water supply last year and the federal water project was
allocated just 10 percent of its water supply; and this year the
State Water Project allocation is currently 5 percent and the water
allocation for the federal water project is 0 percent; and
   WHEREAS, The Department of Water Resources estimates that even if
2010 is an exceptionally wet year it will only be able to allocate 40
percent of the necessary water supply to California citizens,
businesses, and farms in the San Joaquin Valley and southern
California due to the restrictions imposed by the biological
opinions; and
   WHEREAS, Restrictions imposed on the state and federal pumping
plants to protect Delta smelt and salmon have been in place for
decades prior to the biological opinions and those restrictions were
increased under the biological opinions, but have failed to slow the
decline of either species; and
   WHEREAS, Despite decades of pumping restrictions, the salmon
fishery continues to decline and the state is experiencing an
unprecedented third year of closure of California's commercial and
recreational salmon fishery; and
   WHEREAS, The restrictions were imposed at a time of severe drought
and combined to significantly increase the hardships of California's
citizens, businesses, and farms, resulting in the fallowing of
240,000 acres of farmland that feed the nation; and
   WHEREAS, Swift action must be taken to protect the Delta smelt and
salmon and to protect the water supply for California's citizens,
businesses, and farms; and
   WHEREAS, California's urban and agricultural water districts have
combined to develop an experimental triage project capable of
increasing protection of Delta smelt and salmon, while also
protecting water supplies, known as the Two-Gates Fish Protection
Demonstration Project; and
   WHEREAS, In 2009, the Legislature, through passage of Senate Bill
1 of the Seventh Extraordinary Session of the Statutes of 2009,
directed the Department of Water Resources to pursue implementation
of the Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project, and the
United States Department of the Interior's Federal Action Plan for
the California Bay-Delta states that the "Federal agencies will work
in partnership with California authorities to help implement key
aspects of the new water legislation," but the United States
Department of the Interior recently issued public statements that it
will no longer pursue implementation of the Two-Gates Fish Protection
Demonstration Project and will instead engage in more study; and
   WHEREAS, The Legislature made an appropriation of $28,000,000 for
the Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project; now, therefore,
be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature requests the United States
Department of the Interior to reconsider its decision to abandon
implementation of the Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project
and to restart the series of meetings designed to result in
completion of the necessary environmental review and engineering
design to construct the Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration
Project in 2010; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully requests Senator
Dianne Feinstein and Senator Barbara Boxer to make a request to the
United States Department of the Interior to restart its involvement
in implementation of the Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration
Project with the goal of completing the necessary environmental
review and engineering design to construct the Two-Gates Fish
Protection Demonstration Project in 2010; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully requests Speaker of
the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to request the United
States Department of the Interior to restart its involvement in the
implementation of the Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project
with the goal of completing the necessary environmental review and
engineering design to construct the Two-Gates Fish Protection
Demonstration Project in 2010; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully requests that all
other members of the California congressional delegation make a
request to the United States Department of the Interior to restart
its involvement in the Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration
Project with the goal of completing the necessary environmental
review and engineering design to construct the Two-Gates Fish
Protection Demonstration Project in 2010; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit official
copies of this resolution to all members of the California
congressional delegation.