Golden State Salmon Association urges Newsom to sue Trump over the fresh water grab  

By Dan Bacher

The Trump administration just released a controversial plan to divert more Delta water, one that tribes, environmentalists and fishing groups say poses an extreme threat to already imperiled salmon, steelhead and other fish populations.

This plan released by the federal Bureau of Reclamation, or BOR, follows through on a presidential order issued in January aimed at increasing agribusiness water deliveries to the Central Valley. Its details are summed up in a BOR document called Decision for Action 5, which updates the long-term operations of both the federal Central Valley Project and State Water Project, the two main canals that transfer Delta water south.   

“With the signing of this Record of Decision, we are delivering on the promise of Executive Order 14181 to strengthen California’s water resilience,” said Trump-appointed Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “This updated operations plan reflects our commitment to using the best available science to increase water deliveries while safeguarding the environment and honoring the legacy of the Central Valley Project’s 90 years of service.”

Under this plan, the CVP may increase annual water deliveries by between 130 to 180 thousand acre-feet, and the State Water Project by 120 to 220 thousand acre-feet, “depending on hydrologic conditions and subject to the State’s adoption of Action 5,” according to BOR.

The Westlands Water District and allied special interest groups celebrated the signing of the plan, while California officials, environmental groups and fishing organizations condemned the move, warning that it could jeopardize water supplies for millions of residents and accelerate the collapse of salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and other endangered species in the Delta.

In a statement, Allison Febbo, General Manager of Westlands Water District, applauded the action.

“These changes will help ensure that our growers have the water they need to support local communities and the nation’s food supply, while also protecting California’s wildlife,” Febbo  said. “Action 5 is a testament to what can be accomplished with a data-driven, results-focused adaptation to water supply operations.”

She also asserted that Trump’s Executive Order on Delta water is implementing the “Gold Standard of Science.” Additionally, Febbo claimed BOR’s plan is “also consistent with the direction in Executive Order N-16-25, issued by Governor Newsom to state agencies to maximize water supplies.” 

For South-of-the-Delta agricultural contractors like Westlands, Action 5 is expected to deliver an average of 85,000 acre-feet per year of “additional water,” according to Febbo.

California officials called foul on the move by Trump’s Bureau of Reclamation, calling it a matter of putting politics over people.

“As per usual, the emperor is left with no clothes, pushing for an outcome that disregards science and undermines our ability to protect the water supply for people, farms, and the environment,” Newsom Administration spokesperson Tara Gallegos told the Associated Press. 

Regional advocates like Restore the Delta noted that increased pumping from the estuary would kill more Delta smelt and juvenile salmon, degrade water quality, and promote harmful algae blooms with severe ecological and economic consequences.

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, underscored the stakes involved in Trump’s plan.

“When you destroy water quality and divorce it from land, you are also destroying property values. Nobody wants to live near a fetid, polluted backwater swamp,” said Barrigan-Parrilla.

She also discussed the impact of Action 5 on current state and federal operations in the Delta.

“Action 5 disrupts the coordinating operating agreement between the state and federal governments for the CVP and SWP and increases fish entrainment in the Delta pumping facilities,” she pointed out. “It has a real bearing on the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) water permit hearing by the State Water Resources Control Board because voluntary agreements are part of the operations plan for the Delta Conveyance Project [proposed Delta tunnel].”

“The state no longer has a reliable federal partner,” Barrigan-Parrilla added. “This strengthens the case against the Delta Tunnel. I believe it’s a case of either death by a thousand cuts now or soon with the voluntary agreements. If the Newsom Administration really cares about the estuary and not just water exports for the State Water Project, then they need to get busy in litigation to reinstate protections for the Delta.”

Vance Staplin, executive director of the Golden State Salmon Association, is urging Governor Gavin Newsom to file a lawsuit against Reclamation’s plan.

“This administration’s rollback of already weak protections for salmon, steelhead and other imperiled species is disastrous, especially in dry years,” said Staplin. “As a result of past attacks on salmon protections, several salmon runs that depend on this water are close to extinction. When people talk about job loss, we must remember that a healthy salmon industry generates $1.4 billion and 23,000 jobs annually in California,” Staplin observed. “The state’s commercial salmon fishery has already been shut down for three straight years. Weakening protections even further would be devastating.”

Staplin added, “In fact, this decision is so reckless that the state Department of Water Resources has concluded that it could reduce water supply for 23 million Southern Californians – all to steer more water to a handful of rich Central Valley growers.”

Salmon populations that live in the Sacramento River remain in extreme peril. While there was a very limited recreational salmon fishing season allowed this year on the ocean, and a restricted recreational salmon season on the American, Feather and Mokelumne rivers, the Sacramento River was closed to sport salmon fishing – and California ocean waters were closed to commercial salmon fishing – for the third year in a row.  

Caleen Sisk, Chief and spiritual leader for the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, has spent years fighting for fresh water supplies and healthy eco-systems for California salmon populations. This week, Sisk condemned the Trump plan, specifically noting that it slashes protections for Winter Run Chinook Salmon.

“Our tribe is working hard to restore healthy Central Valley salmon runs and return salmon to the McCloud River, the Tribe’s homeland,” Sisk said. “This new decision by the Bureau of Reclamation to cut protections for Winter Run Chinook salmon threatens a salmon run that is at the heart of the tribe’s history, religion and culture. The State of California has worked hard to help us find a way to return salmon to the McCloud River. We urge the State to fight this federal decision that threatens salmon in the Sacramento River and in the Delta.  We can’t successfully return salmon to our river above Shasta Dam if the federal government kills those same salmon below Shasta Dam.”