Dan Bacher: Schwarzenegger Highlights "Green Policies" as California Fisheries Collapse
Governor's Green Rhetoric Contrasts with His Anti-Environmental Actions
Published on Oct 11, 2008 - 7:58:18 AM

By: Dan Bacher

Oct. 10, 2008 - After vetoing a number of key environmental bills last week and presiding over the destruction of Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations the past several years, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday had the audacity to gush about "green policies" and "clean, green technology" Thursday when he gave the keynote address at TechNet's "Growing Green Technology in California" forum.

"It is more important than ever that we secure our state's long-term competitiveness-and green technology is the future," Governor Schwarzenegger claimed. "We are all going through tough economic times, and this is exactly why I am talking about investing in clean, green technology. It's one of the best investments out there, and it's where the innovation and job growth will be, which is why California is leading the way with smart policies that unleash our ingenuity."

According to the Governor's Office, "Governor Schwarzenegger has led California in establishing laws and policies to protect the environment while growing the economy: The Governor has set a goal of increasing California's renewable energy sources to 20 percent by 2010, and he supports reaching 33 percent by 2020."

While Schwarzenegger extolls "smart policies and "clean, green technology," he is presiding over the worst aquatic ecosystem collapse in history on the West Coast. Due to policies by his administration and the Bush regime that have exported record amounts of water to subsidized agribusiness in recent years, Central Valley fall chinook salmon and Delta smelt, longfin smelt, threadfin shad and juvenile striped bass populations have collapsed to record low levels.

But rather than fix this ecological catastrophe, Schwarzenegger and Senator Dianne Feinstein are campaigning for a $9.3 billion water bond that would seal the doom of the Delta, the West's Coast's largest and most significant estuary. The bond would fund "improved conveyance" - the peripheral canal - and two new costly and unneeded reservoirs. The peripheral canal would exacerabate the collapse of chinook salmon, steelhead, green sturgeon, delta smelt, longfin smelt, striped bass and other species, not restore them.

Schwarzenegger demonstrated how "green" he really is when he vetoed some of the top environmental bills on his desk last week, including AB 2270, a bill promoting recycled water, SB 974, the most important air quality bill for this sesson, and Lois Wolk's Fish Rescue Plans bill, AB 1806.

"In the long list of good environmental policies that died by Governor Schwarzenegger's pen this year, the veto of AB 2270 (Laird/Feuer) is especially disappointing - and surprising," said Tina Andolina, Legislative Director of the Planning and Conservation League (PCL). "AB 2270 would have helped Californians access the enormous potential of recycled water, broadly seen as a drought resistant, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable water source for California."

According to the Department of Water Resources, increased development of recycled water could produce an additional 1.4 million acre feet of water for California by 2030. AB 2270 called for more aggressive statewide targets for the development of recycled water and directed state agencies to take a more active role in promoting water recycling. In addition, the measure would have removed a barrier to the development of recycled water by empowering local agencies with the authority to reduce the use of water softeners where salinity has been identified as a significant problem. (Water softeners contribute to higher concentrations of salt in wastewater, which increases the cost of treating recycled water and in some regions contributes to water quality violations.)

The Governor's veto message acknowledges the importance of recycled water but states that potential limits on water softeners compelled him to reject the measure.

"Increasing the use of recycled water in the state is an absolutely necessary activity to increase water supply reliability for the future of our growing state," Schwarzenegger contended. "Unfortunately, this bill also includes provisions that go too far in limiting residential use of water softeners. I recognize that excess salinity in surface and ground water is a serious water quality problem in various regions throughout the state, including the Central Valley and southern California."

He claimed that current law already includes provisions that allow local agencies to regulate water softeners. "The provisions of this bill create a system that could unduly limit choices for consumers and small water systems, with potentially little positive impact given the relatively limited contribution of water softeners to our salinity problems," concluded Schwarzenegger.

"The veto of AB 2270 is perhaps most surprising given that the Governor has repeatedly asked for solutions to California's water problems," countered Andolina. "In fact, the Governor's concern over water supplies compelled him to declare a statewide drought earlier this year and he continues calling for the state to increase its debt by nearly $10 billion for another water bond. Given this concern and California's water outlook, it's unfortunate that the Governor saw use of water softeners as a higher priority than advancing the development of reliable and sustainable water resources around the state."

The Governor last week also vetoed the Clean Ports Investment Act, SB 974 (Lowenthal). This landmark legislation would have raised $300 million a year to fund critical air pollution mitigation efforts and improve freight transportation throughout California.

Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill under pressure from Alaskan Governor Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee. On the day before Senator John McCain named her as his running mate, Palin wrote a letter to Schwarzenegger urging him to veto the bill, claiming that SB 974 would lead to higher costs on goods shipped to Alaska. Schwarzenegger recently endorsed McCain for president.

The Governor also angered members of a broad coalition of fishing and environmental groups, led by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, when he vetoed AB 1806, the Fish Rescue Plans Bill, this week. Assemblywoman Lois Wolk's badly-needed legislation would require the Department of Fish and Game to develop a set of protocols to evaluate the need for fish rescue and relocation plans within the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Schwarzenegger claimed, with no evidence whatsoever, that the bill "is unnecessary and duplicates authority already conferred to the Department by existing laws and regulations for mitigation for fish and wildlife impacts and coordination between federal, state and local agencies."

The Governor also rejected SB 68 (Kuehl), a PCL sponsored measure "to help bring a bit of clarity," to counties, cities and the public bringing lawsuits under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Finally, Schwarzenegger tossed out SB 1056 (Migden), AB 2547 (Leno) and AB 2032 (Hancock). These three oil spill bills would have shortened the response time for oil spills; improved funding for the state's oil spill program; and established grants for improving oil spill cleanup technology.

The Governor signed 772 bills and vetoed 415 after signing the budget on September 22. This veto rate of 35 percent is the highest percentage of vetoes in 40 years.

Other bills Schwarzenegger vetoed include:

AB 2970 (Eng) - Requires the Department of Water Resources to develop a Delivery Reliability Report for the State Water Project.

SB 68 (Kuehl) - Provides increased clarity during CEQA litigation by specifying that the parties that must be named in a lawsuit are limited to those who received an approval for the project and are listed by the public agency in its notice of determination or notice of exemption.

SB 775 (Ridley-Thomas) - Establishes a program that will increase screenings of California children for risk of lead poisoning through the use of the immunization program, improve reporting of information by laboratories to better track cases of lead poisoning, require the Department of Public Health to provide annual reports regarding screening and lead poisoning rates in California, and make information about lead available to pregnant women.

SB 1113 (Migden) - Allows a court, upon motion, to award attorney's fees and other costs, including expert witness fees, to a successful party in any action that has resulted in the enforcement of an important right affecting the public interest.

SB 1313 (Corbett) - Prohibits the manufacture, sale, or distribution of any food contact substance that contains perfluorinated compounds in any concentration exceeding ten parts per billion. Requires manufacturers to use the least toxic alternatives when replacing perfluorochemicals or their precursors.

Schwarzenegger may delude some people when he holds carefully orchestrated media events touting his "green policies," but a review of his actual record in office reveals that his administration has been an unprecedented disaster for fish and the environment.

Editor's Note: Dan Bacher is the editor of The Fish Sniffer: www.fishniffer.com

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