A broad coalition of business organizations and water agencies, including the Byron-Bethany Irrigation District (BBID), is urging lawmakers to vote “no” on Senate Bill 1.

The bill as currently written would derail collaborative efforts to restore the Delta and improve water deliveries. It would also cause litigation by applying the California Endangered Species Act to the federally-managed Central Valley Project, an unsettled area of law.

The full letter is below.

A bipartisan coalition of U.S. lawmakers, including Senator Dianne Feinstein, and Congressmen Jim Costa, John Garamendi, Josh Harder, and TJ Cox, are calling for amendments to SB 1 (Atkins).

The below letter was delivered today to Governor Newsom, urging him to “insist upon” amendments to the legislation to “preserve the viability of potential voluntary agreements over proposed outflow requirements for the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers.”

Byron-Bethany Irrigation District (BBID) joined a broad, statewide coalition of water agencies, business leaders and other concerned organizations opposing Senate Bill 1. BBID has strongly opposed the bill as written, contending it threatens water supply reliability for millions of Californians. Read the full letter to the bill’s author below.

A number of public water agencies, including Byron-Bethany Irrigation District, are strongly opposing Senate Bill 1. The below letter outlines concerns with the legislation, including how it threatens water supply reliability and may negatively impact efforts to improve environmental health of California watersheds.