September 13, 2018 - Fresno, CA – Valley Congressmen Jim Costa (D-CA-16), Jeff Denham (R-CA-10), and Tom McClintock (R-CA-4) continue their fight to protect San Joaquin Valley water from the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) “Water Grab.” 
(Left) Congressman Jim Costa (D-CA-16)

“I will use every option I have to fight the Water Grab,” Costa said. “This is about fighting bad science used to justify taking water from one region of California. This is about the future of the Valley and protecting our way of life.”

“Sacramento’s water grab is in violation of federal law,” Denham said. “We will not allow them to take our water; the future of the Valley depends on it.”

“The proposal to regularly drain our reservoirs for the sole purpose of dumping water into the ocean is lunacy,” McClintock said. “Common sense will prevail.”

This week, the Congressmen sent a joint message to the Acting Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urging him to enforce the requirement in the Clean Water Act that water quality criteria be supported by “rigorous, sound science.” The EPA has notified the Board that the science supporting Phase I of the Water Quality Control Plan for the Bay-Delta (WQCP) is deficient.

This is just the latest action by the Valley Congressmen, who have been working in a bipartisan fashion to help protect Valley water.

Last month, the members sent a strong message to the Chair of California’s State Water Resources Control Board, Felicia Marcus, stating they would intervene if the Board took action that interfered with water projects or processes managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, including the Central Valley Project, the New Melones Dam, and the water rights permits for the State Water Project.

Last week, the members called on U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan to prioritize a provision in this year’s Department of Interior appropriations bill that will prevent federal dollars from being used to implement the WQCP. Congressmen Denham and Costa spearheaded the provision in the House’s version of the spending bill, which passed the House on July 18th.
Source: Congressman Jim Costa