U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Aug. 14 met with local growers and stakeholders during a Modesto, Calif., town hall meeting to learn about critical issues facing Central Valley farmers.
Responding to an invite by Rep. Denham, the secretary’s attendance at the event and subsequent local tour complimented the congressman’s ongoing efforts to stop contentious amendments proposed to the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary by the California State Water Resources Control Board. Rep. Denham thinks the board’s plan would cripple the economy, farms, and community in his California district’s Central Valley region.
“I wanted the Secretary to see firsthand the devastation the Bay Delta plan would cause to our farming community,” said Rep. Denham on Aug. 15. “I am proud to have secured his commitment to help fight the state’s water grab and preserve the valley’s way of life.”
U.S. Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) also attended the town hall meeting where Secretary Perdue said, “We had some good discussions … with local producers on a variety of topics including water, which is a critical issue facing the Central Valley.”
Rep. Denham and Secretary Perdue also visited Brichetto Ranch in Oakdale, Calif., to tour agriculture work along the Stanislaus River.
“It’s important for me as the Secretary of Agriculture to get out of D.C. and listen to the producers here in California and across the country,” said Perdue. “I want to thank Congressman Denham for inviting me to his district to get a real flavor of what the agricultural production is in California.”
This summer, Rep. Denham increased his efforts to protect Central Valley water rights and improve water storage and infrastructure. In July, the U.S. House approved a U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) fiscal year 2019 appropriations bill that includes two amendments he sponsored to prevent the water board’s plan from moving forward, and to store water in the Central Valley.
Specifically, one amendment would stop the state’s proposal to flush fresh water from Central Valley rivers into the ocean. The second amendment mirrors Rep. Denham’s New WATER Act, H.R. 434, which would expand financing to water supply projects and storage infrastructure to help solve California’s water storage shortage crisis.
Both amendments are included in the House-approved Interior, Environment, Financial Services, and General Government Appropriations Act of 2019, H.R. 6147, which the U.S. Senate approved on Aug. 1, 92-6. The bill now heads back to the House, which is set to debate it next week.
Rep. Denham also this summer hosted DOI Secretary Ryan Zinke’s tour of the Don Pedro and New Melones Reservoirs, which would become significantly drained under the water board’s plan, according to Rep. Denham.
Secretary Perdue’s visit to California this week followed Rep. Denham’s letter, signed by California colleagues on both sides of the aisle, requesting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) expedite its announced mitigation measures.
In the letter, the lawmakers also asked that specialty crops grown in the Central Valley receive the same federal aid as what’s allocated to row crops. Farmers also discussed this issue during Tuesday’s town hall, according to Rep. Denham’s staff.