from the Director's Desk

Breanne Vandenberg

Water continued from page 1

The Assembly passed the measure by a three-vote margin, ordering it to the Senate.

Another bill that narrowly passed the Assembly last week was AB 1337. It would enable the water board to curtail pre-1914 water right holders without the governor declaring a drought emergency and without the standard practice of providing due notice ahead of an order. Under AB 1337, the board could levy penalties for each day and for every acre-foot of water diverted.

“The scope of this bill is nothing radical,” said Asm. Buffy Wicks of Oakland during floor debate. “In times of shortage—made increasingly severe because of climate change—all water rights holders would fall under the same rules.”

As with AB 460, water districts argued that such extreme measures would erode any certainty with their investments and hinder their ability to deliver water. They worried about having a state agency, which has insufficient data on water use, step in to manage local water diversions on a regular basis.

“Increasing the frequency with which the state water board manages the system with antiquated tools is not modernization,” said Valerie Kincaid, an attorney representing several districts.

Fong blasted the measure last week, arguing it would enable the board to aggressively curtail legal diversions, even during wet years.

The season is ramping up, and with it, weather that we typically do not see this time of year. Every year has different challenges, and this season has proven to be no different. It has been a year on the legislative front which you can see by the articles in this month’s Farm News. As you work at getting a crop turned over, we’re fighting on all fronts of labor, water and much more.

As Joe mentioned in his column, many times it feels as though the California Legislature doesn’t care or listen to the needs of agriculture. I’ve been in countless meetings where members or their staff members are not engaged in the conversation or only act as if they are interested. It can be incredibly disheartening. Many of these conversations occur with members outside of the valley. It can be a large effort to link agriculture to their constituents even though they use ag products in some manner of their daily lives.

“We don't need to rush and throw our entire water rights system out the window,” he said. “We need to take the time to get it right.”

Asm. Jim Patterson of Fresno, also a Republican, explained that the bill would undo decades of adjudications and other court decisions that have established the current framework of water rights.

“If you take it away, you're going to have really serious legal difficulties,” he said. “And if you think we have an unfair water distribution system, wait until this creates the kind of litigation that you haven't seen before.”

Wicks responded that “no one is losing their water rights here” and senior right holders will still be the last in line for curtailments. She expected the bill to gain several amendments in the Senate to ease the opposition.

Similar arguments played out on the other side of the Capitol over Senate Bill 389, a measure to investigate water right claims for upstream diversions, particularly for pre-1914 rights. Senator Ben Allen of Santa Monica said this would allow the board to ask diverters for proof of their rights, which would better inform the board’s drought actions.

GOP Sen. Shannon Grove of Bakersfield rose in opposition, alerting her colleagues that SB 389 would undermine due process for water right

I say the above knowing that it doesn’t make anyone feel joyful about contacting their representatives. We own that task but encourage you to still reach out when the need arises. They need to hear from their constituents. We’ve had conversations with our newly elected officials and their staff on multiple occasions this year and all have been welcoming and helpful. The nature of the beast it what it is and I always tell folks that you will not agree on everything. No two people will agree on everything no matter if your background aligns.

This year alone we have engaged on a host of topics including water availability, flood impacts and flows, insurance, transportation, etc. The conversations have been a two-way street and both of us walk away with a little more knowledge than we had before. If you are interested in meeting with your elected officials, pick up the phone or write an email/note. It only takes a minute and hearing from their holders and disrupt the reliability of water purchases. She called it draconian and undemocratic to place the burden of proof on the holders and presume they are guilty until proven innocent.

“I can't support a bill that unreasonably investigates growers and public agencies that need to buy water under consistent and measurable standards,” said Grove.

While several Democrats abstained from voting on the three water reform bills, Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil of Modesto was one of only two to raise her concerns on the floor. She described SB 389 as enabling a witch hunt by investigating pre-1914 claims, which often exist only in the form of a basic paper notice tacked to a tree long before a state system was in place.

“It turns into an avenue that can put lives, families, properties and our economy at risk,” said AlvaradoGil. “This is an attack on the way of life in our Central Valley. We’re the breadbasket of the world.”

Sen. Anna Caballero of Merced, also a Moderate Democrat, was frustrated that during droughts the responsibility often falls on agriculture for fallowing land.

“It doesn't become the responsibility of the golf courses to stop watering or for our parks to cut back as well,” said Caballero. “The reality of the situation is that the valley has been gray before this year because of the drought. And then you move to other communities constituents is what helps shape their outlook on various bills that impact you. and they're green, they're flowering and they're beautiful.”

Outside of legislative oversight, MCFB is busy at work planning a few events. Our Summer BBQ is slated for Friday, July 28 at the Arnold Party Barn in Winton. This is our casual mixer for the year. Event tickets are $50 and include your drinks, heavy appetizer menu and entertainment. Social begins at 5:30pm and food will kick off at 7pm. Tickets can be purchased through our office in person or online on our website. We would love for you to join us!

FARM2U is coming back to full capacity this year. This event has been our flagship educational program over the years, educating third graders about the products grown in their backyards. The event is months away in October but our staff has been hard at work reaching out to presenters. Help is always needed and there are many ways you can do so. If you are interested in participating in the day as a volunteer, please reach out to Denelle in our office.

She called for first identifying new sources of water, such as from recycling and reuse projects and other technological solutions, before fighting over water rights.

Allen dismissed the concerns, responding that his bill “just gives the water board the ability to ask the same questions of the folks from 1913 as they can of the folks from 1915, which is to show some proof of the validity of their right.” He claimed that California is the only state to take a blanket, hands-off approach to a massive portion of water rights and argued his bill pushes back against the status quo to create a fair and equitable system.

In a discussion at the Agri-Pulse Food & Ag Issues Summit West on Monday, Fong pointed out that the lawmakers authoring the three measures represent urban coastal districts and said they have not worked on policies in the water space before.

“These bills are existential threats to our water system in California,” he said. “I don’t sugar coat it. This is a big deal.”

In a subsequent interview, Senate Agriculture Chair Melissa Hurtado of Bakersfield said she’s trying to work with the bill sponsors.

“I want to stress the importance of those bills and making sure that we either get the right amendments in there, or if we can, prevent them from moving forward,” said Hurtado.