<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/25/1309591/-Restore-the-Delta-calls-on-Brown-to-back-clean-water-bond">http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/25/1309591/-Restore-the-Delta-calls-on-Brown-to-back-clean-water-bond</a><div><br></div><div>http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/06/25/18757877.php <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); "><div class="webcast" style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 3px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; "><blockquote class="summary" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; "><br></blockquote><center style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "><div class="media" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: center; padding-top: 12px; padding-right: 12px; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 12px; "><img width="640" height="435" alt="brown-gov6.jpg " style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; " src="cid:EFD28D8E-4025-4B3E-8407-4FDD9C1A9E90"><br><strong>brown-gov6.jpg</strong><br><small style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; "></small></div></center><br><div class="article" style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 12px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana" size="6">Restore the Delta calls on Brown to back 'clean water bond' </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">by Dan Bacher </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">Restore the Delta (RTD) called on Governor Brown to back a “clean water bond” for the November 2014 ballot that does not include any taxpayer funding for mitigating the damage from the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) to build the peripheral tunnels. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">The group's statement was issued after Brown told legislators in private meetings on Tuesday, June 24 that he opposes the existing $11.1 billion water bond and supports a $6 billion water bond instead, including about $2 billion for storage. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">Brown also reportedly told legislators that Republicans “must accept less than their stated priority of $3 billion” for water storage projects, according to Capitol Public Radio. (</font><a href="http://www.capradio.org/articles/2014/06/24/brown-opposes-existing-water-bond,-wants-$6-billion-replacement/" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; color: rgb(22, 52, 92); ">http://www.capradio.org/articles/2014/06/24/brown-opposes-existing-water-bond,-wants-$6-billion-replacement/</a><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">) </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">The Governor’s Office has declined to comment on the specifics of his proposal, including whether any funding in the bond will help pay for mitigation for damage caused by the construction of two massive tunnels under the Delta proposed under Brown's Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). "The Governor is concerned about ongoing debt service and its impact on future budgets," according to Jim Evans of the Governor's Office. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">However, a draft of Brown's blueprint obtained by the Sacramento and Fresno Bee also "suggests $1.5 billion for water supply and water reliability, encompassing areas like safe drinking water and groundwater cleanup; $1.5 billion for watershed protection; $500 million for flood control; and $500 million for the Delta." (</font><a href="http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/06/25/3996045/capitol-alert-governors-bond-plan.html" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; color: rgb(22, 52, 92); ">http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/06/25/3996045/capitol-alert-governors-bond-plan.html</a><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">) </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">"The document also states a general rule shared by Senate leaders: the bond must be 'Bay Delta Conservation Plan neutral,'" the Bee reported. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">In response to the latest water bond developments, Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta, said, “California desperately needs a new sustainable water policy and a bond measure that invests in conservation policies that have broad and deep support. We call on Gov. Brown to leave tunnels mitigation out of a water bond.” </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">Barrigan-Parrilla cited records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act showing that the BDCP appears to plan to use bond funds to help fund purchases over the next 50 years of up to 1.3 million acre feet of water annually from upstream areas, such as the Sacramento Valley. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">"These purchases are supposed to make up for over-pumping for the new water export Tunnels,” said Barrigan-Parrilla. “This provision would become a referendum on the tunnels project and would likely doom the water bond to failure, leaving us with no progress on our need for drought resilient water projects.” </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">“In bond provisions labeled as BDCP ‘restoration’ and ‘habitat’ funding, the public would pay to purchase so called ‘enhanced environmental flow’ water from previously identified districts in the Upper Sacramento River Basin – leading to the devastation of their groundwater supplies. That same water would be diverted into the new BDCP Tunnels before it flows into the heart of the Delta,” said Barrigan-Parrilla. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">“Mega-growers within Westlands and Kern County are depending on public subsidies to make the BDCP pencil out. The public purchase of ‘environmental’ water with bond funds has already been shown to be a waste. From 2000-2007, an ‘environmental water account’ was set up and spent nearly $200 million in public funds as the species crashed and the State Water Project over pumped the Delta, creating, huge profits for private landowners like billionaire Stewart Resnick. The voters will not agree to that kind of waste and profiteering again,” Barrigan-Parrilla added. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">In addition, BDCP water exporters are relying on the public, through a combination of state and federal funds and two successive state water bonds, to pay $7.824 billion (before interest in today’s dollars) toward the cost of BDCP. The draft BDCP describes how state bond measures would provide $3.759 billion in funds to carry out the project, according to Barrigan-Parilla. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">She said taxpayers, through other state and federal funding allocations, would also pay the remaining $4 billion needed for the estimated $25 billion dollar project. With the water exporters paying for the cost of the water export Tunnels through increased water rates to families, the public would pay additionally through taxes for the cost of creating more than 140,000 acres of experimental habitat, on Delta farmland, the largest strip of prime farmland in California. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">“According to independent scientific reviews, BDCP habitat is unlikely to yield the benefits assumed by BDCP, in part because the Tunnels will starve the Delta of needed fresh water flows. The BDCP water export Tunnels will remove life-giving flows of high quality water through the Delta. The massive acquisition of farmland for habitat is a ruse to justify building the BDCP Tunnels, and the water exporters are planning to stick the taxpayers with that bill,” said Barrigan-Parrilla. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">Restore the Delta calls on Governor Brown support the following three principles in the 2014 water bond: </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">• Remove all funding for Delta habitat and water purchases tied to the BDCP. Funding actions needed by the still draft, unfinished BDCP will take away funding from other crucial water projects that will make California drought resilient. Taxpayers should not be expected to pay to restore habitat or purchase paper “environmental” water to make the Tunnels appear to be an environmental project. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">• Support levee improvement funding in order to upgrade Delta levees to the minimum PL194-99 standards. The Governor needs to recognize that if there is a catastrophic event in the Delta, one hundred percent of the loss of life and 80% of the economic loss will fall on the Delta region. Levees protect statewide water supplies and provide local flood protection. Regional infrastructure worth billions of dollars (roads, railroads, electric transmission lines, gas lines) is also at risk. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">"The State claims to be worried about an earthquake in the Delta, yet inexplicably is focused not on shoring up the Delta’s earthquake defenses, but on building Peripheral Tunnels to “protect” the water exported. The State has forgotten that 4 million people live in the five Delta Counties and need to be protected from a catastrophic flood event," she said. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">• Support conservation and local water supply and treatment projects throughout California to make the state more water resilient and less dependent on Delta exports. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">"We are calling on Governor Brown to support principles that will actually lead to more secure water supplies for all Californians, rather than endorsing a water exporter driven bond that will deliver only for certain special-interest water districts to the detriment of the largest estuary on the west coast of the Americas," she summed up. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">“If the governor and Westlands mega-growers insist on including taxpayer subsidies for the tunnels mitigation in the water bond, it will become a vote of the people of California on the mammoth and destructive BDCP Tunnel project, estimated to cost a total of at least $54.1 billion after interest,” said Restore the Delta’s media consultant, Steve Hopcraft. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">The current water bond on the November ballot was created as part of a water policy/water bond package passed by the Legislature in a special session called by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in November 2009. The water bond was rescheduled twice, first in 2010 and then again in 2012, due to strong opposition to provisions in the bond that facilitate the construction of the twin tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">Brown is a relentless advocate for the widely-criticized Bay Delta Conservation Plan to build the peripheral tunnels - and looks at the tunnel plan, estimated to cost up to $67 billion, as a "legacy" project. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">On Monday, June 23, Senator Lois Wolk’s new water bond, SB 848, failed to gain required two-thirds vote “due to Republican opposition and demands that the measure include more funding to enable the construction of two tunnels underneath the Delta to divert water to farming interests in the Southern San Joaquin Valley,” according to a statement from Wolk’s Office. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">The vote was on party lines, with the Senate Democrats supporting the measure and the Senate Republicans voting against it. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">The 22 yes votes were Beall, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Galgiani, Hernandez, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Mitchell, Monning, Padilla, Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, and Wolk, all Democrats. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">The no votes were Anderson, Berryhill, Fuller, Huff, Knight, Morrell, Vidak, Walters, Wyland, all Republicans. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">No votes were recorded by Block, Calderon, Cannella, Gaines, Hancock, Hill, Nielsen, Wright and Yee. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">Three of those recorded not voting - Leland Yee of San Francisco, Ron Calderon of Montebello and Rod Wright of Inglewood - were suspended from the State Senate with pay this March. Senators Yee and Calderon were indicted in separate federal corruption cases, while Senator Wright will be sentenced on July 21 on criminal charges that he lied about where he lived when he ran for office in 2008. (</font><a href="http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/rod-wright/#storylink=cpy" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; color: rgb(22, 52, 92); ">http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/rod-wright/#storylink=cpy</a><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">) </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">“Yesterday’s vote was a missed opportunity,” said Senator Wolk. “It was especially disappointing to see my Republican colleagues from Northern California tie their horses to the Delta Tunnels and support the current bond written in 2009 rather than the tunnel neutral approach in SB 848 that was before them. The 2009 bond promotes the tunnels and is doomed to be rejected by the voters.” </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">“We are in a drought," she said. "The voters want real solutions, not the tunnels. There is no better time than now to act. SB 848 includes water solutions for every region of the state that reflect local needs and priorities. This bond doesn’t hurt any region and, critically, it avoids investments in controversial projects like the Delta Tunnels that will result in opposition at the ballot. SB 848 is the only proposal that doesn't provoke a North-South water war and meets Republican core demand for surface storage." </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">For more information, go to: </font><a href="http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/06/25/18757859.php" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; color: rgb(22, 52, 92); ">http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/06/25/18757859.php</a></div><div class="article" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 12px; "><br></div><div class="article" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 12px; "><br></div></div></span><div style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; "><br></span></div><div style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; ">2.</span></div><div style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; "><br></span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#111111" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px; ">http://yubanet.com/california/Dan-Bacher-NorCal-lawmakers-call-for-opening-up-secret-drought-bill-negotiations.php#.U6uBnN3DyRo</span></font></div><div style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; "><br></div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#111111" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px; ">Photo of Congressman George Miller, courtesy of George Miller's Office.</span></font><center style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "><div class="media" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: center; padding-top: 12px; padding-right: 12px; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 12px; "><img width="200" height="301" alt="200px-george_miller_house_photo_1.jpg " style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; " src="cid:8BFDF58D-E795-4DD0-B57A-B2C5301EDFBA"><br><strong>200px-george_miller_house...</strong><br><small style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; "></small></div></center><br><div class="article" style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 16px; margin-top: 12px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana" size="6">NorCal lawmakers call for opening up secret drought bill negotiations </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">by Dan Bacher </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">Six Northern California Congress Members on June 23 called on Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer to open up secret negotiations on controversial drought legislation that threatens salmon populations, family farmers and California Indian Tribes. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">Representatives Jared Huffman, George Miller, John Garamendi, Jerry McNerney, Doris Matsui, and Mike Thompson on June 23 asked for "public and transparent negotiations" between the Senate and House on legislation responding to the historic California drought. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">In a letter to California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, the members noted that "negotiations to date have left the public without adequate information or opportunities for input." Any compromise between the Senate drought response bill and the destructive House-passed bill, the members argued, would ultimately be harmful to California. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">The House bill, H.R. 3964, severely undermines numerous state and federal statutes, would irreparably damage the Bay-Delta, degrade drinking water quality, and cost California thousands of jobs, according to the Representatives. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">“We are deeply concerned that it appears that negotiations with the House majority are being held out of the public eye. We believe the process by which Congress responds to this drought crisis should be transparent,” the members wrote. “Our constituents are rightly concerned about a closed-door approach that picks winners and losers amid California’s statewide drought, and they deserve a public discussion of the merits of the legislation being considered.” </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">"The House majority has already demonstrated their intention to irresponsibly override state water law and decades of federal protections for clean water, fisheries, and northern California tribes, farms, and cities – all to benefit a select few," they said. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">"The House-passed H.R. 3964 provides neither new resources nor useful tools, but instead undermines numerous state and federal laws, including: the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act, and the California constitution and its public trust doctrine. We all agree that this would take California in the wrong direction, and the House majority’s draft Energy & Water appropriations bill would continue this harmful approach. Our state cannot risk the negative repercussions of trying to reconcile the differences between H.R. 3964 and S. 2016," they wrote. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">The members also called for direct assistance to communities hurt by the drought, including farmworker and fishing communities. Neither the Senate nor House-passed bills provide any new funding for emergency drought relief projects, water recycling infrastructure, or conservation and efficiency projects, in contrast to the House Democrats’ bill and an earlier Senate bill, they wrote. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">Feinstein is the primary author of the emergency drought relief bill, S 2918, that was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate in May. House Republicans passed their own, even more dangerous legislation in February that would waive Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections, repeal the restoration of the San Joaquin River below Friant Dam and override the federal “wild and scenic river” designation for a short stretch of the Merced River. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">Environmental groups, fishing organizations and Indian Tribes oppose Feinstein's bill, since they say it will enable more Delta water to be exported to corporate agribusiness interests on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley during the current drought. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">Restore the Delta (RTD) on May 16 issued a strongly-worded statement criticizing Senator Feinstein for pushing S 2918 “to allow more water to be exported for Westlands’ and Kern Water Districts’ mega-growers in the midst of a severe drought.” The group also blasted Feinstein’s bill for posing a grave threat to Central Valley salmon and other fish populations and wildlife refuges. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">“It is disappointing that Senator Feinstein has chosen to rush harmful legislation with no public hearings, debate or scrutiny, so that industrial growers who have planted tens of thousands of acres of almonds and other permanent crops in the midst of the past several very dry years,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta. “Sen. Feinstein is using every tactic she can to aid these growers at the expense of the rest of California. There’s a better solutions, despite Sen. Feinstein’s statement that she has received no useful input on alternatives. She has received the input, but has ignored it.” </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">“Sen. Dianne Feinstein is rushing legislation through Congress that uses the current drought to make changes that undo critical protections for our salmon and other fisheries, and the people who rely on our river system. While it makes sense to take prudent steps to address the drought, it is unwise to use the current lack of water to do the bidding of mega-growers who want more and more water for permanent crops on unsuitable lands. That’s who gets most of the water in our public projects: huge industrial farming operations in the Westlands and Kern Water Districts. Sen. Feinstein is responding to the urging of these growers, many of whom have contributed mightily to her campaigns,” said Barrigan-Parrilla. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">S 2918 is harmful to salmon migration, since it would lock in a 1:1 ratio of San Joaquin-San Francisco Bay Delta water inflow to water exports, according to Restore the Delta. This permits exporting water that can be diverted by massive pumps in April and May, and affects the San Joaquin River’s flow at a critical time when salmon and steelhead are migrating down the river to the ocean. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">S 2918 also weakens protections for salmon and regulates the flow rate at which Old and Middle Rivers, two channels of the San Joaquin River that feed the Bay-Delta, can be made to flow in the reverse of their natural direction by the operation of the federal and state pumps that export water south. Those pumps redirect the flow of the Delta and pull millions of salmon and other fish to their deaths each year. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">Between 2000 and 2011, more than 130 million fish were ‘salvaged’ at the State and Federal Project water export facilities in the South Delta, according to a white paper published by Bill Jennings, Executive Director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, on March 7, 2013. Actual losses are far higher. For example, recent estimates indicate that 5-10 times more fish are lost than are salvaged, largely due to the high predation losses in and around water project facilities. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">Feinstein is pushing the dangerous legislation as Jerry Brown is fast-tracking the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to build the peripheral tunnels. The same agribusiness interests advocating for Feinstein’s legislation are the same ones promoting the construction of the tunnels. </font><br><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif">The project, estimated to cost up to $67 billion, would hasten the extinction of Central Valley salmon, Delta and longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other fish species, as well as imperil the salmon and steelhead populations on the Klamath and Trinity rivers. </font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"><br>The full letter from the Congress Members is below: <br><br><i>June 23, 2014 </i><br><br><i>The Honorable Dianne Feinstein </i><br><i>United States Senate </i><br><i>331 Hart Senate Office Building </i><br><i>Washington, DC 20510 </i><br><i>The Honorable Barbara Boxer </i><br><i>United States Senate </i><br><i>112 Hart Senate Office Building </i><br><i>Washington, DC 20510 </i><br><br><i>Dear Senators Feinstein and Boxer: </i><br><br><i>We applaud you for your effort to produce workable solutions to California’s statewide water shortages, and for your leadership in expediting state and federal agencies’ response to the drought. The passage of S.2198 in the Senate has sent a strong message that California’s drought requires the highest level of attention and continued action, and we hope to continue to work with you as we push for solutions. However, we are deeply concerned that it appears that negotiations with the House majority are being held out of the public eye. We believe the process by which Congress responds to this drought crisis should be transparent. </i><br><br><i>The House majority has already demonstrated their intention to irresponsibly override state water law and decades of federal protections for clean water, fisheries, and northern California tribes, farms, and cities – all to benefit a select few. The House-passed H.R. 3964 provides neither new resources nor useful tools, but instead undermines numerous state and federal laws, including: the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act, and the California constitution and its public trust doctrine. We all agree that this would take California in the wrong direction, and the House majority’s draft Energy & Water appropriations bill would continue this harmful approach. Our state cannot risk the negative repercussions of trying to reconcile the differences between H.R. 3964 and S. 2016. As the Los Angeles Times observed in their June 8th editorial, “a compromise between the two bills would be bad for California.” </i><br><br><i>We believe Congress should focus on solutions, and we cannot accept the destructive Valadao-Nunes approach, which flouts state and federal law, will irreparably damage the Bay-Delta, degrade drinking water quality, and cost our state thousands of jobs. We strongly urge you to prioritize providing the resources and additional tools that California needs to respond to this and future droughts, as both H.R. 4239 and your original S. 2016 would have done. Although we still have concerns with a provision from S. 2016 that remains in S. 2198, we believe both S. 2016 and H.R. 4239 have important provisions in common that would: directly assist communities harmed by the drought, including farmworker and fishing communities; provide funding for emergency drought relief projects; expand funding for water recycling infrastructure, conservation, and efficiency projects that can be rapidly brought online; ensure that drought damages are properly recognized under the Stafford Act; and reduce wildfire risk. Not one of these priorities is addressed by H.R. 3964. </i><br><br><i>Since neither H.R. 3964 nor S. 2198 received a public hearing nor considered by committees in open session, and a formal conference process is not possible at this point, we strongly urge you to conduct any further negotiations in public, and to seek comment from the relevant state and federal agencies, as well as tribes, recreational and commercial fishing interests, water managers, farms, counties, and cities. Our constituents are rightly concerned about a closed-door approach that picks winners and losers amid California’s statewide drought, and they deserve a public discussion of the merits of the legislation being considered. The changes envisioned between both bills are so great, and there are so many stakeholders at risk, it would be a great disservice if these decisions were made without transparency and public input. </i><br><br><i>Thank you again for your leadership. </i><br><br><i>Sincerely, </i><br><br><i>### </i></font></div><div class="article" style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 16px; margin-top: 12px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"><i><br></i></font></div><div class="article" style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); line-height: 16px; margin-top: 12px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"><i>3.</i></font></div><div class="article" style="margin-top: 12px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#111111" face="verdana, arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px; ">http://www.fishsniffer.com/blogs_/details/bill-introduced-to-ban-oil-drilling-in-vandenberg-marine-protected-area/ </span></font></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(71, 71, 71); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; "><h2v style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; font-size: 22px; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); text-transform: uppercase; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; text-shadow: rgb(0, 153, 204) 1.5px 1.5px; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(71, 71, 71); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; "><h2v style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; font-size: 22px; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); text-transform: uppercase; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; text-shadow: rgb(0, 153, 204) 1.5px 1.5px; "><br></h2v></span></div>BILL WOULD BAN OIL DRILLING IN VANDENBERG MARINE PROTECTED AREA</h2v></span><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-transform: none; color: rgb(71, 71, 71); ">Written By: <strong style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">Dan Bacher, June 21, 2014</strong></div><div class="round_white" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; background-image: url(https://fishsnifferee-thefishsniffer.netdna-ssl.com/images/gradient_bg.png); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(251, 251, 251); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 211, 211); border-right-color: rgb(211, 211, 211); border-bottom-color: rgb(211, 211, 211); border-left-color: rgb(211, 211, 211); height: 1486px; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px 5px; position: static; z-index: auto; background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; "><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#474747" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; "><img alt="Bill would ban oil drilling in Vandenberg marine protected area" title="Bill would ban oil drilling in Vandenberg marine protected area" height="176" width="140" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); " src="cid:9D1DC8E0-44DA-4FC0-9158-064ECB9E1F75"></span></font><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-transform: none; "><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#00041d">Fishermen, Tribal leaders and grassroots environmentalists have repeatedly criticized the privately funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative for creating questionable "marine protected areas" that fail to protect the ocean from oil drilling, fracking, pollution, military testing, corporate aquaculture and all human impacts on the ocean other than fishing and gathering. </font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-transform: none; "><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#00041d">The Coastal Justice Coalition, a group of members of the Yurok, Hoopa Valley, Karuk and other Tribes who agree that the State of California has no right to regulate tribal gathering, exposed this severe flaw in the MLPA Initiative when they stated, "Protected areas would allow for deep water drilling yet would ban tribal gathering," in a news release issued in June 2010. (<a href="http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/06/29/18652206.php" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none !important; font-size: 12px; ">http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/06/29/18652206.php</a>) </font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-transform: none; "><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#00041d">While MLPA Initiative officials let the oil industry, corporate polluters and ocean industrialists off the hook in their strange concept of "marine protection," offshore oil drilling will be banned in one state marine protected area, the Vanderberg State Marine Reserve, if State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) has her way. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">Senator Jackson has introduced a bill, SB 1096, to ban offshore oil drilling from an area of state waters in the Santa Barbara Channel known as Tranquillon Ridge. The area is designated as a "marine protected area" because of its sensitive marine ecosystem, according to a statement from Senator Jackson's office. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">Declaring that "offshore oil and gas production in certain areas of state waters poses an unacceptably high risk of damage and disruption to the marine environment of the state," the California Legislature in 1994 banned any new offshore oil and gas leases when it passed the California Coastal Sanctuary Act. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">But a glaring loophole in state law left Tranquillon Ridge, which extends into state and federal waters, with reserves that are currently being tapped in federal waters from Platform Irene, uniquely vulnerable to offshore drilling, according to Jackson's office. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">This loophole in the California Coastal Sanctuary Act authorizes the State Lands Commission to enter into a lease for the extraction of oil or gas from state-owned tide and submerged lands in the California Coastal Sanctuary, "if the commission determines that the oil or gas deposits are being drained by means of producing wells upon adjacent federal lands and the lease is in the best interest of the state." <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">Senate Bill 1096 repeals this loophole, found in Public Resources Code 6244. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">"For too long, oil companies have been eying this precious marine ecosystem as theirs for the taking," said Senator Jackson. "With each new proposal, we have mustered our resources, and fought for our environmental future. This bill would close the book on the possibility of future offshore drilling in these state waters and help ensure that our precious coastline remains protected forever." <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">Jackson said oil companies have made numerous attempts to tap into Tranquillon Ridge's offshore reserves from state waters over the years. Since 2003, an oil development proposal has been pursued by Sunset and Exxon to drill into Tranquillon Ridge reserves from an onshore location at Vandenberg Air Force Base. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">"Slant drilling from onshore into offshore waters raises significant concerns about possible oil spills, impacts on marine life, air and water pollution, and contributions to global climate change," said Jackson. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">"We are thrilled to sponsor this bill, which would protect one of the most environmentally rich areas on the California coast," said Linda Krop, chief counsel of the Environmental Defense Center, a nonprofit environmental law firm headquartered in Santa Barbara County. "This region is recognized as one of five important ecological regions on the planet. For this reason, the state has designated this area as a Marine Protected Area, which means that it warrants the highest possible level of protection." <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">"If a project like the original T-ridge, which contained significant environmental benefits, was rejected by the state, then our community should vehemently oppose an oil project that has even worse environmental impacts and no benefits," said Assemblymember Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara). "This bill would protect our waters from potential harmful new oil development." <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">Vandenberg State Marine Reserve (SMR) is a marine protected area located offshore of Vandenberg Air Force Base, near the city of Lompoc on the Central Coast. The marine protected area covers 32.84 square miles. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">Vandenberg SMR is supposed to "protect" all marine life within its boundaries and fishing and take of all living marine resources is prohibited. However, the "marine reserve," like others established under the MLPA Initiative, doesn't ban oil drilling, fracking or pollution. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">Vandenberg SMR was established in September 2007 in a controversial public-private partnership between the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. It was one of 29 marine protected areas adopted during the first phase of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">The time to ban offshore oil drilling, fracking, pollution, corporate aquaculture, military testing and other harmful activities to marine life in the "marine protected areas" created under the MLPA Initiative is long overdue. The oil industry's inordinate influence over the MLPA Initiative and other environmental processes, the Legislature and the Governor's Office is due to the enormous amount of money that the oil industry dumps into campaign contributions and lobbying in Sacramento every year. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">A report released on April 1, 2014 by the ACCE Institute and Common Cause reveals that Big Oil has spent $143.3 million on political candidates and campaigns – nearly $10 million per year and more than any other corporate lobby – over the past fifteen years. (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; "><a href="http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2014/04/10/bil_oil_floods_the_capitol_4.1.14v2.pdf" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none !important; font-size: 12px; "></a></span><a href="http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2014/04/10/bil_oil_floods_the_capitol_4.1.14v2.pdf" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none !important; font-size: 12px; ">http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2014/04/10/bil_oil_floods_the_capitol_4.1.14v2.pdf</a>) <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; text-decoration: none; ">But Big Oil exerts its influence not just by making campaign contributions, but also by lobbying legislators at the State Capitol. The oil industry spent $123.6 million to lobby elected officials in California from 1999 through 2013. This was an increase of over 400 percent since the 1999-2000 legislative session, when the industry spent $4.8 million. In 2013-2014 alone, the top lobbyist employer, Western States Petroleum Association, spent $4.7 million. </font></div></div></div></body></html>