President-elect Donald Trump could be the force that drives more water to the Central Valley, based on campaign promises this year and similar policy from his previous administration.
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom called a special session to “protect California values” against Trump, who slammed Newsom for the state's increasing use of fallow farmland and water diversion to protect delta smelt.
In September Trump told reporters that under his leadership, California would have "water at a level that you've never seen before."
"The farmers are going to do great," he said. "Those fields are going to be all green instead of 1% green."
He then threatened to pull federal funding for wildfire relief, if Newsom "doesn't sign those papers," although it is unclear what papers he was referring to.
Brian Gray, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California and a retired water lawyer, told Agri-Pulse that it is highly unlikely Trump could withhold assistance. But California’s Republican House delegation would probably apply pressure to prevent such action.
Still, Trump’s promise of water could come to fruition through a few avenues, Gray said.
Gray expects the new administration to change the biological opinion currently dictating the Central Valley Project and State Water Project. Hopes of returning to Trump’s 2019 BiOp (biological opinion) were brought up in September when Republican U.S. House members in the Central Valley held a field hearing on state water supply.
Republicans on the House Natural Resource Committee said repeatedly that they wanted to return to the 2019 BiOp, which they said “moved more water through the Central Valley into our communities.” They blamed Newsom for filing suit against the administration and costing water.
William Bourdeau, vice president of Harris Farms and director of Westlands Water District, told Agri-Pulse he was hopeful the Trump administration would “recognize the importance of reliable water supply and a domestic food supply capability.” He also hosted Vice President-elect JD Vance at Harris Ranch during the campaign.
Another witness at the hearing, Friant Water Authority CEO Jason Philips, called for “additional congressional oversight, direction and accountability in how the water system in California is regulated.”
Philips criticized the 2021 BiOp produced under the Biden administration for taking “an overly conservative approach” to Endangered Species Act compliance.
Since state water quality standards are enforced by the State Water Resources Control Board, Gray said California could also preempt the Trump administration by incorporating federal endangered species standards into its water quality control plan for the Delta to adjust the CVP and SWP accordingly.
Congress could bypass state authority by changing the CVP Improvement Act of 1992, a law that tells the federal government to comply with state laws governing water quality and rights.
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“The new Congress could change that and it could preempt certain aspects of state law, and I think that's something we certainly should look out for,” Gray said.
In January 2023, Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif, introduced the WATER for California Act, which would direct the CVP and SWP to send more allocations to agricultural water service contractors, even at the risk of inadequate water for endangered species.
Gray believes the BiOp reversal scenario is one Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta have already contemplated and would likely result in litigation. Bonta held a press conference last week to signal that he is prepared for legal action.
Back in 2017 the California Senate initiated SB 49 — known as the California Environmental, Public Health and Workers Defense Act — which would have allowed federal standards on air quality, water quality, water rights and endangered species to be incorporated into state law.
SB 49, which was defeated in the Assembly, would have “lock[ed] those standards in and then enforce[d] them as a matter of California law” by directing the California Air Resources Board, State Water Resources Control Board, Department of Fish and Wildlife and other agencies to incorporate those federal baseline standards into practice. The legislation was reintroduced under the same name in 2019, but was vetoed by Newsom, who wrote that, “No other state has fought harder to defeat Trump's environmental policies, and that will continue to be the case.”
Gray said both bills were designed to protect the state against Trump and similar plays may happen in the coming session, although Newsom’s office hasn’t forecast protective legislation.
“The special session responds to the public statements and proposals put forward by President-elect Trump and his advisors, and actions taken during his first term in office,” according to a statement from the governor’s office.
Newsom took a short trip to Washington this week to meet with Biden administration officials and the California congressional delegation, according to his office. He'll be advocating for disaster funding, state health care initiatives and "crucial climate waivers."
California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass said in a statement that the group would work with the next administration and new Congress to advance policy on “sustainable water supply, tackling labor shortages, passing a full reauthorization of the farm bill, improving trade policies and reducing the high costs and regulatory burdens that farmers and ranchers face.”
