Congressman Garamendi Submits Public Comment on Twin Tunnels Boondoggle, Responds to Governor Brown’s Disappointing Remarks

WALNUT GROVE, CA – November 2, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA) submitted his public comment on the massive twin tunnels, falsely called the “California WaterFix”, that are proposed to be built through the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. His complete public statement, titled “The ‘Little Sip, Big Gulp’ Proposal,” is available online here.

“The new draft [of the California WaterFix] does not consider the full range of alternatives available to meet the legally required coequal goals of water supply and ecosystem restoration in the Delta,” Garamendi said in his public comment. “The divorce of California EcoRestore from the conveyance facility only reinforces the fact that this project is not about protecting the environment, but rather about building a plumbing system that will harm the Delta and San Francisco Bay without creating a drop of new water.”

Congressman Garamendi was also deeply disappointed that Governor Jerry Brown, in his public comment, said that opposition to his multi-billion dollar twin tunnel boondoggle is “shameful and do[es] a profound disservice to California’s future.”

Congressman Garamendi responded to the Governor, saying, “No, Governor, what is shameful is to propose a multi-billion dollar boondoggle that presents an existential threat to the Delta communities you represent and that doesn’t create a drop of new water for the state. The real disservice is the attempt to force the state into an intractable water war when Californians have reached an overwhelming consensus that we should invest in water conservation, recycling, and storage projects that will make more water available for all Californians. You still have an opportunity to be a unifying water leader and to leave the lasting legacy of water infrastructure that makes our great state more resilient in drought and flood years. I’d rather not waste my time refighting this peripheral canal in sheep’s clothing, but I will continue to fight this if I must. I will do everything possible to prevent a project that could destroy the Delta be built under my watch.”

In 1982, Governor Brown proposed a peripheral canal that would have also devastated the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Then-State Senator Garamendi helped lead the fight against Proposition 9, the peripheral canal proposition, and ultimately 62.7% of California voters rejected the peripheral canal. In many Northern California counties, more than 90% of Californians rejected this flawed project.