Congressman Garamendi Responds to the Draft Environmental Documents on the Twin Tunnels

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), one of California’s strongest voices against Governor Brown’s so-called “twin tunnels” plan, commented on the Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, now known as the California WaterFix.

“This Draft EIR/EIS just reinforces what we already knew: this project is not about restoring the environment,” warned Garamendi. “California law requires meeting the co-equal goals of providing a reliable water supply and preserving the environment. The twin tunnels are about building a plumbing system that will suck the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta dry and damage water quality in the San Francisco Bay."

“This plan would not create a drop of new water, and would destroy the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Western Hemisphere. I have already developed a Water Plan for All California that would provide a comprehensive, cost-effective water solution that preserves the Delta and plans for the needs of California’s future,” continued Garamendi.

Garamendi has consistently called for the twin tunnels to be scrapped in favor of water projects that actually create new water for the state and make the state more capable of adapting to future drought and flood conditions. You can see his plans for a more sustainable Delta conveyance here.

In 1982, Garamendi was one of the leaders in the successful fight against the twin tunnel’s predecessor: the peripheral canal.