House passes funding bill with two California water amendments offered by Denham

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a federal 2019 appropriations bill that includes two amendments championed by U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) aiming to prevent a controversial state water plan from moving forward and to store water in his California district’s Central Valley region.

“My amendments put a stop to the state’s disastrous plan to flush water from Valley rivers and ensure federal resources are available to build storage,” said Rep. Denham.

Both amendments are included in the Interior, Environment, Financial Services, and General Government Appropriations Act of 2019, H.R. 6147, introduced on June 19 by U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) as the House version of the same-named S. 3073.

The U.S. Senate bill was introduced on June 14 by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and is under consideration by the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee. H.R. 6147 passed the House 217-199 on July 19 and heads to the Senate, where it will be reconciled with S. 3073.

House Amendment (H.Amdt.) 928, which Rep. Denham offered on July 18, prevents federal funds from being used to implement the State of California’s Bay-Delta Plan, which would deplete the federally owned New Melones reservoir that provides water for the Central Valley Project and generates hydropower, according to a summary from the congressman’s office.

“I am fighting back against Sacramento’s water grab because we need more water, not less,” Rep. Denham said.

Agreed to by voice vote, H.Amdt. 928 specifically prohibits federal agencies from participating in the Sacramento plan, which Rep. Denham said would drain significantly more water from New Melones each year, potentially leaving it dry some years and jeopardizing water supplies for the region’s farmers and local communities.

“This really is a social justice issue,” Denham said during a July 20 on-air interview with FOX40 in his home state, in which he discussed his efforts to get federal help to improve the Central Valley’s reservoirs and water storage.

“It goes beyond farming,” the lawmaker said. “Farming is important. It’s our number one industry; it’s a lot of jobs. But when you shut off our water … there are areas of the Central Valley that actually go without water, where we have FEMA bringing in bottled water, bringing in temporary showers. It’s a travesty and we can’t afford that devastation.”

The second amendment from Rep. Denham, H.Amdt. 893, which he offered on July 17, expands financing to water supply projects under the federal Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program, which hastens investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental loans for regionally and nationally significant projects.

The WIFIA program, according to the congressman’s office, has been accepting loan applications only for clean and drinking water projects, although water storage and flood-risk reduction projects are also eligible.

H.Amdt. 893 increases the WIFIA administrative expenses account by $2 million and decreases the Department of Interior’s Office of the Secretary account by the same amount, according to the congressional record summary. The amendment was added to H.R. 6147 after being agreed to in the House by voice vote.

During his television interview, which preceded a tour he took later that day with U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke of the Don Pedro Reservoir and the New Melones, the congressman said he wants “to set up a water infrastructure bank so we can utilize our state water bond.”

“But at the same time, we’re also facing this battle with this new [state] water plan that wants to take twice as much of our water and push it out to the ocean,” said Rep. Denham. “So the Secretary of the Interior needs to see both sides of this and really understand that California is pretty unique in its water wars.”