The McCloud River Remains in Peril
The McCloud River. Credit: CA Dept. of Water Resources.
It shouldn’t take much of a reminder that Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) is Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
In addition to his desire for the federal and state taxpayers to rebuild, expand, and build more infrastructure to supply water to his Congressional District (he is achieving some success there), he wants to help the giant Westlands Water District expand Shasta Reservoir.
However, since the days of California Governor George Deukmejian, the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act has protected the McCloud River from further drowning by this reservoir expansion.
McCarthy’s solution: put language in must-pass appropriations (spending) bills, language that purports to pre-empt the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, and allow Westlands to resume its crusade to push the federal government to turn more of the McCloud River into a reservoir.
Congress has not overridden state wild & scenic river acts before, but there’s a new sheriff in town, and he has a big posse.
McCarthy, of course, may have at least two shots at this: in omnibus appropriations bills or a continuing resolution to fund the federal government. In either case, Presidential vetoes would be effectively impossible.
Members of the House of Representatives and U.S. Senators will have to resist McCarthy. The next few months may decide. And even if we evade the danger this year, 2024 will not be much different.
Elections have consequences. So does citizen lobbying.
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