Calif. plans taking land for huge water tunnels
By Ellen Knickmeyer, AP
SAN FRANCISCO — State contractors have readied plans to acquire as many as 300 farms in the California delta by eminent domain to make room for a pair of massive, still-unapproved water tunnels proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown, according to documents obtained by opponents of the tunnels.
Farmers whose parcels were listed and mapped in the 160-page property-acquisition plan expressed dismay at the advanced planning for the project, which would build 30-mile-long tunnels in the delta formed by the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers.
“What really shocks is we’re fighting this and we’re hoping to win,” said Richard Elliot, who grows cherries, pears and other crops on delta land farmed by his family since the 1860s. “To find out they’re sitting in a room figuring out this eminent domain makes it sound like they’re going to bully us … and take what they want.”
Officials involved in the project defended planning so far ahead regarding the tunnels.
“Planning for right-of-way needs, that is the key part of your normal planning process,” said Roger Patterson, assistant general manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, one of the water agencies that would benefit from the twin tunnels.
The district serves 17 million people in Southern California as well as large farms and businesses.
Brown’s administration said re-engineering water flows of the delta — the largest estuary on the West Coast — is essential to undoing mistakes of past water projects and to supplying water to Southern California.
Brown has pushed for a massive delta makeover since his first stint as governor in the 1970s and 1980s. In May, he told critics of the tunnels to “shut up.”
Opponents say the tunnels would jeopardize delta farming and destroy vital wildlife habitat.
“If these reports are correct, then we have further confirmation that the tunnels project has been a forgone conclusion,” state Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, who chairs a committee on the delta, said in an email Monday.
The environmental review, “which should be used to choose a project, is simply being used to justify the favored project,” she wrote.
Through October, the project officially is in a period of public comment on the environmental impact of the tunnels. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which opposed an earlier version of the project, also must still weigh in.
Restore the Delta, a group of farmers, fishing associations, environmental groups and other opponents, released the property plan that was obtained with a request made under the state open records law. The plan targets public and private land in Sacramento, San Joaquin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties to be acquired for the project.
Under the plan, landowners would have 30 days to consider and negotiate a one-time state offer, while officials simultaneously prepare to take the land by forced sale if owners declined to sell. “Negotiations to continue in parallel with eminent domain proceedings,” the plan notes.
Contractors also appear to call for minimal public input.
“All transactions are conducted, reviewed and approved internally by DCE staff and managers to maintain control and avoid unnecessary delays to schedule,” the property plan outlines. “DCE shall seek to minimize external review and approval requirements.”
DCE is short for Delta Conveyance Facilities Design and Construction Enterprise, a private-contractor group embedded within the state Department of Water Resources to work on the proposed tunnels.
In a June interview, Neil Gould, an attorney for the Department of Water Resources, said planning for the proposed tunnels was no more than 10 percent complete and had focused on assessing the environmental impact.
Asked if planning the process of eminent domain was warranted as part of the project’s environmental review, Department of Water Resources spokeswoman Nancy Vogel said Monday in an email, “identification of properties that may be within the project area is necessary … as DWR needs to estimate the proposed project’s potential impacts to those properties.”
Public water agencies paid for the property acquisition plan, Vogel said. Those include water agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area and Central California, as well as Southern California, she said.
Patterson, with the Metropolitan Water District, said the latest revisions to the overall tunnels project laid out using more public land and less private land.
Osha Meserve, an attorney for some of the delta farmers fighting the project, said the latest plans still proposes taking roughly the same land as before.
Taking privately owned land for giant lunatic leftist insanity projects should be a crime as is sending water that isn’t there south without consent of the north who own it. Moonbeam will really get lunatic before he is booted out for good.
So building more resevoirs and putting in pipelines in the Sierras running to places off the hill is an answer to the drought? Well then whose hurtin’? Us!!!
If these water starved areas will once again propose pumping the lakes in Desolation and Tahoe, hopefully they will be rebuffed and rejected to steal water from the Sieeras while our mountains are dry and creeks are drying up and our lake is losing depth.
Take care and conserve water, Old Long Skiis
I was told by a knowledgeable source that the reason for the tunnels wasn’t conservation but to insure the delivery of water that naturally should flow through the delta, to users in Southern California. Water resource managers are confident that there will be a large earthquake which will result in the failure of many of the levees and water capture systems in the delta.
The tunnels will be designed to withstand that and continue the longstanding taking of Northern California water. This will cost billions, that we will all pay for.
“Brown’s administration said re-engineering water flows of the delta — the largest estuary on the West Coast — is essential to undoing mistakes of past water projects and to supplying water to Southern California. Brown has pushed for a massive delta makeover since his first stint as governor in the 1970s and 1980s. In May, he told critics of the tunnels to “shut up.”
Well isn’t this just dandy—now southern California wants to steal northern California’s Delta water and our illustrious Governor has not only been for this since the 1970s he’s now proposed it. This plan will not only take 300 Delta farms by eminent domain thus destroying those farmlands and families, it will be an environmental disaster for the fresh water Delta when the bay salt water encroaches further up river. Let those greedy southern Californians deal with their own water problems, like constructing de-salinization plants and being willing to conserve water for a change.
I say it’s time to recall Moonbeam and he can crawl out of whatever pocket he’s in, and separate northern California from southern California.
Unbelievable. Southern California (Mexico north) are nothing but greedy sun baked pigs wallowing in their own filth. Why should we conserve? They don’t after stealing water from us.
The water tunnels are not a good idea! De-saliniazion is the way to go for coastal and lcoal communities off the hill and all the importtant agriculturle areas where applicable.
Don’t turn this into a water war of North versus South. Take care, OLS
Really awesome comments here, glad no one is being a d bag and doing thing like bringing up Mexico randomly or being redundant.
Some people called the Democrats should question why a liberal and a supposed good Dem like this piece of work named Hook-Beaked Moonbeam who is presumed to be for the environment, which he isn’t, is so hell-bent on destroying it and has for many decades along with his father. Why don’t the concerned about the environment liberals stand up and stop these billion dollar scams of trains and tunnels? This state below the middle Central Valley has become a new state of Mexico and should be returned and the rest of the state has to reform into a new state.
So once again senile moonbutt thinks his idea to wreck our food supply for a bunch of salt water is good for all? He’s an old goat needing a pasture somewhere. Let Southern Cal water wasters figure out their own plan. I was down south recently and saw many washing down their already clean driveways. They think OUR water is unlimited!
Taking land that does NOT belong to them as well? I hope the farmers put the goat in his place.
4-mer: Great idea to recall Moonbutt but this state is so over populated/infested with liberals thinking this nut is a God and has all of our best interests in mind. I’d be in line to recall him but it will never happen. Cali-Lib-Mexico is the poster child of liberal idiocy.
So some don’t like the Governor, Jerry Brown. He has helped restore our economy and protect the environnment with water conservation and cutting the state budget expenditures while still at the same time helping veterans, seniors, the poor and the children who need the help the most!.
No, I am not in favor of the propsed water tunnels to pump what remaining water we have left to pump with what water we have left in our drying streams and lakes,off over the hill to water wasters in the central valley and south of us.That goes for local water wasters as well! Be water wise, OlS
I wouldn’t confuse a career politician being generous with other’s money by over-taxing people and causing businesses and tax payers to leave in record numbers for other states a good thing, it is a recipe for a coming disaster as is the unsustainable welfare crises combined with the flood from open borders. His environmental destruction speaks for itself. The Delta Plan seeks to do what LA did to the Owen’s Valley and the results there are well known. The facts are obvious that what he is, is a fraud, and people were lied to and wanted to believe. This Delta land theft and water diversion to the new state of Northern Mexico must be stopped.
Brown propped up the state’s budget on the backs of local governments, such as the taking of every dollar and asset from every Redevelopment Agency in the state of California prior to his terminating them. Whether someone liked Redevelopment or not, each Redevelopment Agency was a part of their respective local government and those Redevelopment Agencies had cash and assets. Brown took all that to help the State out of their budget crisis during the recession and to pad the State’s future budgets. He cared not one bit about what that would do to local governments and to their communities.
When I reflect back on his handling of the Med-fly in the 1970s I still cringe. He’s always feigned support of the environment but doesn’t walk the walk.
And for the record, I’m neither a conservative nor a liberal–I support who I think will be best.
Brown also created the infamous “fire fee” that every home in “rural” California now pays, while he absconded with CalFire’s funding from the general fund. Brown’s incredibly good at the ol’ shell game. And since the fire fee is a “fee” and not a “tax” (he couldn’t impose a tax; that would have been illegal!) the people who pay it can’t even write it off on their Federal tax bills.
Jerry Brown has been no friend to the middle class in California.
Horrible Plan so sad…