EDITORS NOTE: Earlier this year, Investigative Reporter Deanna Lynn Wulff discovered the Peripheral Canal‘s 12 Billion dollar projection may be closer to 40 billion.
SACRAMENTO - Assemblyman Bill Berryhill announced April 24, 2012 that the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife passed out two common sense water measures, Assembly Bills 2421 and 2422.
AB 2421 requires that an independent third party Cost/Benefit analysis must be completed on any plan that is submitted as part of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). Many in the Delta have strongly expressed skepticism to the BDCP’s ability to achieve the co-equal goals that were mandated by the Legislature in 2009. Nearly all of the options being studied, including a tunnel that could divert the entire Sacramento River around the Delta, will have a significant financial burden on California.
“AB 2421 is a significant step towards ensuring that any project proposed to shift massive amounts of water around the Delta will be studied to understand the true impact on the Delta,” Assemblyman Berryhill said. “As a farmer and a resident of San Joaquin County I want to know how much that water will cost Californians and what will be impact on the farmers and ecosystem in the Delta.”
AB 2422 continues the Assemblyman’s efforts to bring forward realistic solutions to California’s water problems, requiring the Department of Water Resources to study the Western Delta Intakes Concept (WDIC). WDIC, which was designed by Dr. Robert Pyke and supported by many Delta groups, would shift water south at Sherman Island on the western edge of the Delta only after it goes through the Delta ensuring that the farming community and ecosystem are protected.
“There are serious concerns with the current process on fixing water,” said Assemblyman Berryhill. “If we truly want to problem solve, we must look outside the same old tired proposals and be creative. I have worked for the last 3 years to develop relationships across the aisle and show that the Delta livelihood is at stake in this fight. AB 2422 will simply allow the state to study a new plan and continues my efforts to illuminate options other than those that have been around since the 1930′s. This will not jeopardize the Delta.”
Both measures, AB 2421 and AB 2422, were opposed by southern water interests such as Metropolitan Water District and Westlands Water District. They move now to Assembly Committee on Appropriations.
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