May 11, 2015 - Sacramento – Senator Tom Berryhill (R-Twain Harte) issued the following statement upon submitting a letter to Governor Jerry Brown on recent state actions on drought conservation. Letter can be found here.
“There are many moving parts in California’s water wars. I stand firmly behind improved conservation efforts up and down the state but I do not believe it is appropriate or prudent to use this drought as an excuse to grossly expand bureaucratic authority to levy fines, especially when those fines can go as high as $10000. A dangerous precedent that will not end well for the citizens of California.
“Frankly, water infrastructure needs are not new in California. The hard reality is they have been passed over for years in favor of other programs. Had California invested in additional surface water storage years ago, the drought we face today would be nowhere near as dire or prolonged. Conservation is part of the solution, but voters approved a bond that promised to prioritize projects that increased storage and the ability to make water available to our communities and farmlands. These projects should be streamlined – much like the legislature routinely does to speed up construction of stadiums and sporting venues – not held up for years in a review process.”
