PLF’s “Save our Water” Petition Draws Support from Rep. Radanovich, CalChamber,
and Key Ag Groups

August 19 deadline for signatures asking for ESA “God Squad” to be convened to address state’s water emergency

SACRAMENTO, CA;  July 29, 2009: Key civic, business, and agricultural leaders have stepped up to support Pacific Legal Foundation’s “Save our Water, Save Our Jobs” petition campaign, an effort to avert an even more severe government-caused water shortage in California’s San Joaquin Valley and the southern part of the state.

The signature-gathering drive, which runs through August 19, urges President Barack Obama and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to act to convene a special federal panel, commonly known as the “God Squad,” to address California’s water emergency caused by harsh federal environmental restrictions. The petition can be accessed at PLF’s Web site: www.pacificlegal.org.

Among those who have added their support: Rep. George Radanovich (R-Fresno), an expert on water issues, who signed the petition personally, issued a statement in support, and sent a link to many of his constituents; the California Chamber of Commerce, which placed a link on its Web site, and reported on the petition in its Alert newsletter; the United Agribusiness League; and the Western Growers.

● “The CalChamber is encouraging California businesses to sign the petition to urge Governor Schwarzenegger to use his authority to ask the federal government to convene the Endangered Species Committee to exempt the operations of state and federal water delivery systems from measures that will inflict serious economic and social harm on millions of Californians,” says the California Chamber of Commerce in a news release.

● “Join me in signing Pacific Legal Foundation’s petition and send the radical environmentalists in Washington and Sacramento a message: when it comes to water policy, humans come before fish,” said Rep. Radanovich in a release on his Web site.

“All Californians owe a debt of gratitude to Rep. Radanovich, the California Chamber of Commerce, the United Agribusiness League, and the Western Growers, for stepping forward to promote the ‘Save our Water’ petition,” said PLF President Rob Rivett. “These leaders recognize the urgent need to halt job-killing restrictions on water supplies that are vital for farms, businesses, and communities in the Central Valley and Southern California. PLF is grateful for the civic commitment that these organizations and Rep. Radanovich are displaying by their support for this vital ‘Save our Water’ initiative.”

“Water cutbacks caused by drastic federal environmental regulations have already caused devastation for San Joaquin Valley farmers, farmworkers, rural communities, and cities,” PLF President Rob Rivett continued. “Now, new federal restrictions have been proposed that will exacerbate the water crisis in California. The Endangered Species Committee – the ‘God Squad’ – must be convened to save the California economy from an even more destructive government-caused water crisis.”

The Endangered Species Committee is a panel of cabinet officials that can countermand Endangered Species Act restrictions that cause excessive destruction to jobs and the economy.

A governor may formally petition for the convening of the Committee. PLF’s “Save our Water” petition urges Governor Schwarzenegger to submit such a request, and urges President Obama to make sure his administration acts favorably on it.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has imposed devastating cutbacks on water pumping into California’s main water system as part of a regulatory scheme to protect the Delta smelt.

Now, sweeping new reductions in water supplies loom as part of a “biological opinion” relating to several other species, including chinook salmon and steelhead. These further cuts in pumping and water supplies are estimated to remove an additional 500,000 acre-feet of water, the amount that is required to serve two million people annually.

“Without relief from the God Squad, the harsh enforcement of rigid environmental rules will inflict more pain and suffering in a state that is already enduring its worst unemployment in more than 60 years,” said PLF’s Rivett. “PLF’s emergency petition asks that the God Squad be convened as quickly as possible.”

About Pacific Legal Foundation
Pacific Legal Foundation (www.pacificlegal.org) is the leading legal watchdog for limited government, property rights, and a balanced approach to environmental regulation.

On May 21, 2009, PLF attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of several Central Valley farmers against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, challenging federal authority to regulate for the Delta smelt, which has led to sharply reduced pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

In 2001, PLF, representing two irrigation districts in the Klamath Basin, petitioned Interior Secretary Gale Norton to convene the God Squad to alleviate severe problems stemming from water cutbacks for endangered fish.

Watch a brief video about PLF’s history and mission, including comments by former U.S. Attorney General Edwin J. Meese III.