The Mercury News and East Bay Times editorial “Newsom is being played by Big Ag on Delta water” asserted: “Gavin Newsom is being played by Big Ag interests as he tries fruitlessly to negotiate a truce in California’s water wars.” Gov. Newsom has proven that he will not be played by anyone or any interest group – be it an agricultural, urban, or environmental interests.

The editorial asserts Newsom capitulated to Westlands Water District when he vetoed SB1. But Westlands was only one of numerous water agencies that opposed SB1; others included large urban agencies, including Valley Water and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The governor vetoed SB1 because, in his words, SB1 was a “solution in search of a problem.” When he vetoed SB1, Newsom correctly observed: “Senate Bill 1 does not … provide the state with any new authority to push back against the Trump administration’s environmental policies and it limits the state’s ability to rely upon the best available science to protect our environment.”

Newsom recognizes that issues related to protection and restoration of native fish in the Delta are complex and cannot be resolved by simplistic, narrowly focused actions. He has continuously sought solutions that do not require the state to protect the more than 25 million people and 2 million acres of fertile land that depend on water conveyed through the Delta at the expense of the health of the Delta.

Consistent with the science developed over the last three decades, the Newsom administration is pursuing comprehensive, watershed-wide solutions that address the numerous factors that limit the abundance of native fish in the Delta. These types of solutions are the ones that are most likely to achieve the state’s co-equal goals of the 2009 Delta Reform Act, of providing a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta ecosystem. It is for that reason, Westlands and numerous other water agencies strongly support the governor’s efforts to develop voluntary agreements that include both flow and non-flow actions. Indeed, modeling conducted by the California State Water Resources Control Board indicates that the voluntary agreements, if implemented, will produce greater benefits for native fish than the single-focused, unimpaired flow approach that threatens agricultural, urban, and wildlife communities.

On Nov. 21, 2019, the state announced, without explanation, that it had concluded new biological opinions issued by federal agencies to protect native fish under the Endangered Species Act are not scientifically adequate and would sue the federal agencies. This announcement was both surprising and disappointing because the state Department of Water Resources, as a co-applicant, was involved in preparing the new biological opinions, and prior drafts of the biological opinions were modified to address concerns expressed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. At the time of the state’s announcement, its representatives recognized the need to work quickly with the federal agencies to address the sztate’s concerns with the biological opinions, and they acknowledged the relationship between the biological opinions and the voluntary agreements.

It is true that on Dec. 10, 2019, Westlands’ general manager sent to representatives of the state an email that stated the threat of litigation would make it “impossible to reach a voluntary agreement,” but that same email encouraged the state to work with the federal agencies to resolve quickly, outside of a litigation context, the state’s concerns with the biological opinions. Westlands expressed that view, not as a threat, but in recognition of the circumstances. How can voluntary agreements intended to result in actions that support native fish be reached when there is litigation between necessary parties to the voluntary agreements, the state and federal agencies, over biological opinions that pertain to the same native fish? Simply put, the earlier the issues over the biological opinions are resolved, the sooner important discussions on voluntary agreements can resume.

Dan Errotabere is a third generation family farmer in Fresno County and president of Westlands Water District.