Water Quality

Floor Speech

Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, this month, the Department of Interior and the California Department of Water Resources announced an increase in water allocation to farmers in the San Joaquin Valley. Our efforts to press the administration for more water is producing results and is already flowing to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.

But our fight for our valley's jobs and economy is far from over. Regulations that restrict the flow of water to our valley must be revised. I am pleased that the administration has announced its intention to revise and integrate the two biological opinions that single out valley agriculture for degrading the delta when we know that this simply is not true. All factors affecting the health of the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta must be taken into account as we move forward, including predation of invasive species and other water quality factors.

I would like to submit a letter for the Record from the Central Valley Regional Water Control Board that confirms the need to address water quality issues. This includes the dumping of pollutants, such as ammonia and toxic urban run-off and the impact of power plants on the ecosystem, among other things. We will win this fight, and common sense will prevail. Recognizing all of the factors impacting the delta will allow more water to flow to the valley and the rest of California.

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