SACRAMENTO, California — Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to fast-track a project to reroute more water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to farmers and cities as part of his revised budget blueprint set to be unveiled Wednesday.
What happened: Newsom is asking state lawmakers to pass a trailer bill to shorten judicial review of lawsuits challenging the project and streamline its pending water rights permit by removing deadlines for when the project has to be under construction and using water.
“We’re done with barriers — our state needs to complete this project as soon as possible, so that we can better store and manage water to prepare for a hotter, drier future,” Newsom said in a statement provided to POLITICO. “Let’s get this built.”
Why this matters: A version of the proposed project has been floating around — first as a canal, then a pair of tunnels — for more than a half-century, during which it has reliably brought out opposition from environmental groups and delta elected officials concerned about habitat loss and construction impacts.
