The PCL Insider: News From The Capitol

PERIPHERAL PIPELINE LEGISLATION RETURNS

Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) has announced that he will reintroduce legislation to authorize the construction of a pipeline or other conveyance facility along the eastern edge of the California Delta. Simitian's plan would divert Sacramento River water that currently flows into the Delta and transport it around the Delta to agricultural, commercial and residential users in Central and Southern California. Today, this water flows through the Delta's channels and sloughs and is then sucked through state and federal pumps at the southern end of the Delta near Tracy.

Simitian intends to introduce the bill next Monday, the first official day of the legislative session. Draft legislation should be available to the public later this week.

Proposals for a peripheral canal (also intended to send water south of the Delta) met with bitter opposition in the early eighties and were defeated in a rare statewide referendum vote. Today, concerns over potential levee failures and rising sea levels have drawn new supporters to the idea. Proponents note that if a levee disaster allowed saltwater to enter deep into the eastern Delta it could shut down freshwater exports. Simitian proposes to charge water users to pipe freshwater through a state owned facility, avoiding the Delta levees, and to invest funds generated from use of the facility for maintenance and environmental restoration.

PCL will be following Senator Simitian's legislation very closely. The idea of exporting water by bypassing the Delta raises many fundamental questions about the future of the Bay-Delta Estuary that must be answered. For example, independent scientists must determine how much water needs to remain in the Delta to maintain a healthy estuary, the impacts to salmon and other aquatic species from a large diversion facility on the Sacramento River, and the potential for multi-meter sea level rise to inundate new infrastructure. The new Delta Vision Process, just getting underway, provides a forum in which these and other critical issues will be seriously explored.

NEW LEGISLATORS OFFER NEW OPPORTUNITIES

In the November 7th election, many candidates for statewide office beat out incumbents or replaced their termed-out colleagues. In fact, twelve out of forty Senators and thirty five out of eighty Assembly members will be new to their positions when they meet on Monday for a swearing-in ceremony. It's a profound shift that brings fresh perspectives and opportunities for education.

How well do these new legislators know your views on the environmental issues facing your state and community? Most likely the answer is "not well enough."

That's why PCL has launched a campaign to bring together new legislators with their constituents to discuss the community's environmental and public health priorities. Our goal in hosting these legislative meetings is to establish positive working relationships as early as possible and break the barriers that leave both elected officials and voters feeling disconnected.

Our first meeting with Senator-elect Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) demonstrated the benefits of early engagement. Representatives from National Audubon Society, Pacoima Beautiful, The River Project, SCOPE LA, Los Angeles Department of Health Services, Friends of the Santa Clarita River, and Neighborhood Legal Services shared their views and heard from the Senator-elect about his goals for the beginning of the session. Everyone agreed it was time well spent.

It's likely that our next meeting will be with Assembly member Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), and we are lining up more gatherings for the weeks ahead.

Check out the list below of all the new Senators and Assembly Members. If you live in a district with a new legislator and believe that a meeting could be beneficial, please let us know. We're here to help!

SENATE

Ron Calderon (D-Montebello)
Dave Cogdill (R-Modesto)
Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro)
Lou Correa (D-Anaheim)
Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino)
Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach)
Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima)
Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles)
Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento)
Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa)
Mark Wyland (R-Solana Beach)
Leland Y. Lee PhD. (D-San Francisco)

ASSEMBLY

Anthony Adams (R-Hesperia)
Richard Alarcon (D-Sun Valley)
Joel Anderson (R-San Diego)
Jim Beall (D-San Jose)
Tom Berryhill (R-Modesto)
Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica)
Anna Marie Caballero (D-Salinas)
Charles Calderon (D-Montebello)
Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto)
Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley)
Mike Davis (D-Los Angeles)
Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles)
Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord)
Mike Duvall (R-Yorba Linda)
Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park)
Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles)
Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield)
Ted Gaines (R-Roseville)
Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton)
Martin Garrick (R-Solana Beach)
Mary Hayashi (D-Castro Valley)
Ed Hernandez (D-Baldwin Park)
Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael)
Kevin Jeffries (R-Lake Elsinore)
Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank)
Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco)
Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia)
Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge)
Curren D. Price Jr. (D-Inglewood)
Laura Richardson (D-Long Beach)
Mary Salas (D-Chula Vista)
Jim Silva (R-Huntington Beach)
Cameron Smyth (R-Santa Clarita)
Jose Solorio (D-Santa Ana)
Nell Soto (D-Pomona)
Sandre Swanson (D-Alameda)