Guest commentary by Regina Cuellar, Chairwoman of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians
For over 50 years, California law and regulations have designated beneficial water uses that require water quality protection. However, tribal water uses have never been included, which is why our tribe, the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, has authored legislation to mandate designation and protection of tribal beneficial water uses, such as water-based ceremonies, plant collection, and fishing. We have also been outspoken opponents of the proposed Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) and Voluntary Agreements (deceptively branded as the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes program), which would deprive our rivers and Delta of freshwater flows necessary to sustain our cultural
practices. Our tribal water uses can only be realized if we improve the flows in our rivers and Delta ecosystem.
Last week we were alarmed to learn that DCP proponents are trying to appropriate language from our bill (AB 362) and merge it into trailer bills aiming to fast-track the DCP and Voluntary Agreements. We are not fooled by this cynical maneuver; and we call upon the legislature to reject these trailer bills just as it did in June when Governor Newsom tried to pass them as part of the state budget.
The Governor has supported beneficial projects, such as the Klamath Dam removals and the Safe and Affordable water fund. However, when it comes to the Delta, he has made it clear that impacts to tribes, communities, and ecosystems are acceptable damage to slake the never-ending thirst for unsustainable agriculture, development, and greed of corporate water profiteers. We will not accept this erasure and vehemently oppose anyone claiming that our water uses can only receive protection if we agree to support the trailer bills.
These trailer bills would undermine the core goals of protecting tribal water uses and eliminate due process and evidence-based decision making. The DCP bill would eliminate the role of courts in assessing water rights and bonding authority for the DCP. The Water Quality Control Plan (WQCP) bill would also harm tribes by preventing us from expressing and documenting environmental and cultural impacts during an environmental review process under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Requiring CEQA analysis for WQCPs is essential for understanding how actions ranging from forestry to stormwater management impact water quality and tribes’ ability to safely engage in cultural practices.
The only way to achieve viable tribal water use protections is for the legislature to reject these trailer bills and to require the State Water Resources Control Board to set enforceable water quality standards. In the Bay-Delta region, degraded water quality and its consequences (e.g., diminished fish populations, harmful algal blooms) already limits our ability to maintain our ways of life. We cannot begin to redress these harms until there are tangible and enforceable water quality standards.
The stubborn insistence on pursuing these trailer bills is an affront to tribes, Delta communities, and ratepayers who would face tremendous bill impacts from the DCP’s $60+ billion price tag. Contrary to what has been claimed, there are viable alternatives to ensure California communities have adequate and affordable water through the existing State Water Project. However, there is no alternative for tribes if these trailer bills are approved.
GUEST COMMENTARY: Protecting tribal water uses requires rejecting the Delta Conveyance Project
Guest commentary by Regina Cuellar, Chairwoman of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians
For over 50 years, California law and regulations have designated beneficial water uses that require water quality protection. However, tribal water uses have never been included, which is why our tribe, the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, has authored legislation to mandate designation and protection of tribal beneficial water uses, such as water-based ceremonies, plant collection, and fishing. We have also been outspoken opponents of the proposed Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) and Voluntary Agreements (deceptively branded as the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes program), which would deprive our rivers and Delta of freshwater flows necessary to sustain our cultural
practices. Our tribal water uses can only be realized if we improve the flows in our rivers and Delta ecosystem.
Last week we were alarmed to learn that DCP proponents are trying to appropriate language from our bill (AB 362) and merge it into trailer bills aiming to fast-track the DCP and Voluntary Agreements. We are not fooled by this cynical maneuver; and we call upon the legislature to reject these trailer bills just as it did in June when Governor Newsom tried to pass them as part of the state budget.
The Governor has supported beneficial projects, such as the Klamath Dam removals and the Safe and Affordable water fund. However, when it comes to the Delta, he has made it clear that impacts to tribes, communities, and ecosystems are acceptable damage to slake the never-ending thirst for unsustainable agriculture, development, and greed of corporate water profiteers. We will not accept this erasure and vehemently oppose anyone claiming that our water uses can only receive protection if we agree to support the trailer bills.
These trailer bills would undermine the core goals of protecting tribal water uses and eliminate due process and evidence-based decision making. The DCP bill would eliminate the role of courts in assessing water rights and bonding authority for the DCP. The Water Quality Control Plan (WQCP) bill would also harm tribes by preventing us from expressing and documenting environmental and cultural impacts during an environmental review process under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Requiring CEQA analysis for WQCPs is essential for understanding how actions ranging from forestry to stormwater management impact water quality and tribes’ ability to safely engage in cultural practices.
The only way to achieve viable tribal water use protections is for the legislature to reject these trailer bills and to require the State Water Resources Control Board to set enforceable water quality standards. In the Bay-Delta region, degraded water quality and its consequences (e.g., diminished fish populations, harmful algal blooms) already limits our ability to maintain our ways of life. We cannot begin to redress these harms until there are tangible and enforceable water quality standards.
The stubborn insistence on pursuing these trailer bills is an affront to tribes, Delta communities, and ratepayers who would face tremendous bill impacts from the DCP’s $60+ billion price tag. Contrary to what has been claimed, there are viable alternatives to ensure California communities have adequate and affordable water through the existing State Water Project. However, there is no alternative for tribes if these trailer bills are approved.
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