Golden State Salmon Association Encouraging Pushback On Bill That Could Harm Salmon
The following press release is courtesy of the Golden State Salmon Association:
TAKE ACTION: LAST MINUTE AMENDMENTS TO CALIFORNIA SB 1390 WILL WEAKEN PROTECTIONS FOR SALMON
AUGUST 28, 2024
Join Golden State Salmon Association, Crab Boat Owners Association, and conversation organizations and tribes to oppose last minute amendments to California SB 1390 that will weaken the protections for salmon, fishing industry, the Delta communities, and other fish and wildlife.
California SB 1390 could come up on the floor of the California Assembly today. GSSA is urging everyone to call their assemblymembers or member offices to tell them to vote NO on SB 1390. This legislation weakens already minimal protections in the Delta for unpermitted water diversions.
Despite reaching an agreement with conservation and fishing organizations on language in the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee that provided better protections for the Delta, SB 1390 was amended on the floor to weaken that provision and undermine the carefully negotiated compromise.
As part of the agreement in SB 122 to allow a relaxing of environmental requirements to facilitate the diversion of flood flows to recharge groundwater, a set of protections was incorporated into that bill, including specific protections for the Delta. This provision was intended to address the concerns raised by organizations and entities in the Delta, who believed that diversion from the Delta would further impact Delta communities, salmon, and the critical endangered fish that depend on the Delta for survival.
The recent amendments to SB 1390 insert language referencing one specific controlling agreement on conditions in the Delta, the Coordinated Operations Agreement, and not all restrictions and protections in place in the Delta, including endangered species protection rules. This language gives inappropriate deference to the State Water and Central Valley Projects when it is appropriate to divert from the Delta to accommodate flood flows. Moreover, the Coordinated Operations Agreement is currently in the process of being amended, as are the Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan water quality standards.
The current operations of the State Water Project and Central Valley Project have harmed thousands of threatened steelhead and endangered winter-run Chinook salmon in an Above Normal water year. The 2024 salmon season has been closed, putting thousands of people out of work. Inadequate water operations requirements rules are a major cause of that salmon closure. Spring-run salmon and Delta smelt are on the brink of extinction. Longfin smelt and white sturgeon are likely to be listed soon. The San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary is in desperate need of updated protections and increased freshwater outflow to protect commercial and recreational fishing.
SB 1390 will exacerbate this ongoing situation and continue the inappropriate and unsustainable reliance on pumped water from the Delta.
Take action today – find and call your Assemblymember today!
