Last week, after minimal notice, the House Natural Resources Committee passed H.R. 1837 (Nunes). Over the coming days, my colleagues and I will be blogging (again) about this radical legislation, which would eviscerate the state and federal environmental laws that protect California’s rivers, the Bay-Delta estuary, and thousands of salmon fishing jobs, including overturning the court approved settlement to restore the San Joaquin River.
This legislation was originally introduced in 2011, but ran into a buzz saw of opposition (click here for letters, editorials, and other opposition materials from 2011). The authors released an amended version of the bill two days before the hearing, but much of the opposition from last year continues, including opposition from the State of California, our 2 Senators, and 10 Representatives. Below are links to the letters, editorials, and other materials opposing the amended version of H.R. 1837 (I will update this blog as opposition continues to build).
Opposition from the White House
Congressional Opposition
- 2-15-12 Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer Letter Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-16-12 Press release and letter from 10 Northern California Representatives opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-16-12 Press Release from Rep. Napolitano Opposing H.R. 1837
- Rep. McNerney Letter Opposing H.R. 1837
- 4-27-12 Rep. Napolitano and Rep. Thompson Letter re: H.R. 1837 Threat to Salmon Industry
State of California Opposition
- 2-15-12 Letter from California Natural Resources Secretary Laird Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-28-12 Letter from California Natural Resources Secretary Laird Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-28-12 Letter from California Attorney General Harris Opposing H.R. 1837
Opposition from Other States
- 8-1-11 Letter from the Western States Water Council Opposing H.R. 1837
- 8-9-11 Letter from Wyoming State Engineer Opposing H.R. 1837
- 8-16-11 Letter from Oregon Water Resources Department Opposing H.R. 1837
- 8-19-11 Letter from Colorado Department of Water Resources Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-27-12 Letter from Montana Attorney General Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-28-12 Letter from New Mexico Attorney General Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-28-12 Letter from the Colorado River Commission of Nevada opposing H.R. 1837
Local Government and Water District Opposition
- 2-15-12 Letter from the Water Replenishment District of Southern California Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-17-12 Letter from the City of Sacramento Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-23-12 Letter from East Bay Municipal Water District expressing concern about H.R. 1837
- 2-23-12 Letter from the Conta Costa County Board of Supervisors Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-23-12 Letter from the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-23-12 Letter from South Delta Water Agency Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-24-12 Letter from Central Delta Water Agency Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-24-12 Letter from the Delta Counties Coalition Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-24-12 Letter from the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-24-12 Letter from Grassland Water District Opposing H.R. 1837
Environmental, Fishing, Farming, and Business Opposition
- 2-15-12 Letter from environmental and fishing groups opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-15-12 Letter from Delta community groups and local governments opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-15-12 Letter from Sierra Club opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-16-12 Letter from the American Sportfishing Association opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-16-12 Letter from Trout Unlimited opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-20-12 Letter from conservation groups, the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, fishing organizations and Delta stakeholders opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-24-12 Letter from Trout Unlimited opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-24-12 Letter from the American Sportfishing Association opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-24-12 Letter from the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-24-12 Letter from California Trout opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-26-12 Letter from 190 conservation and fishing organizations opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-27-12 Letter from Delta fishing, farming, conservation and business groups opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-27-12 Letter from Environmental Entrepeneurs opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-27-12 Letter from National Wildlife Federation opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-27-12 Letter from American Rivers opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-28-12 Letter from Environmental Groups opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-28-12 Letter from the League of Conservation Voters opposing H.R. 1837
Editorials & Op-Eds
- 2-16-12 San Francisco Chronicle Editorial opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-17-12 San Jose Mercury News Editorial opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-19-12 Redding Record Searchlight Editorial opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-19-12 Daily Democrat Editorial opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-22-12 Vacaville Reporter Editorial opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-22-12 Valejo Times-Herald Editorial opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-22-12 Monterey County Herald Editorial opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-28-12 San Francisco Chronicle Op-Ed opposing H.R.
1837 - 2-28-12 Sacramento Bee Op-Ed opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-28-12 Oakland Tribune Editorial Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-29-12 Stockton Record Editorial Opposing H.R. 1837
- 2-29-12 Sacramento Bee Editorial Opposing H.R. 1837
- 3-1-12 Riverside Press-Enterprise Editorial Opposing H.R. 1837
Fact Sheets
- NRDC Fact Sheet: Jobs and ESA Myths
- NRDC Fact Sheet: Water Supply Myths
- NRDC Fact Sheet: Implications of H.R. 1837
- House Natural Resources Committee Minority Staff Fact Sheet: H.R. 1837, the "States Rights Repeal Act"
- House Democratic Leader Pelosi's Fact Sheet: Instead of Action on a Jobs Agenda, GOP Passing States’ Rights Preemption Act (H.R. 1837)