Objections to water
bill remain
A measure
waiting for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signature that will change the
name, powers, and jurisdiction of the Santa Ynez River Water Conservation
District, Improvement District No. 1 (ID No. 1) is still causing some
consternation among community members who have voiced objections to the
inclusion of references to “tribal governments.”
AB 2686,
sponsored by Assembly Member Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, will change the name
of ID No. 1 to a simpler Santa Ynez Valley Water District and free it from its
relationship with the parent organization, the Santa Ynez River Water
Conservation District. The new water district will also have a new power as a
“replenishment” district, allowing re-injection of surface water into the
aquifer.
Preservation
of Los Olivos president Doug Herthel
spoke against the measure at public and private meetings with the water board
general manager and trustees, objecting to the inclusion of the term “tribal
government” in an earlier version of the bill detailing joint powers
relationships with government agencies. Herthel held
that such an inclusion would give a tribal entity additional rights that could
then be used to gain control over reserved water rights.
The
section that Herthel found to be objectionable was as
follows:
“Public agency” means the state, any city,
county, city and county, or other public agency organized under the laws of
this state, any other state, the United States, or any tribal government.
Bill
sponsors amended the bill to remove the reference to the tribal government from
the section, but then placed the reference in five other sections of the bill.
Those references are:
134. The
hydroelectric plant or plants and transmission lines constructed by the district
may be leased for operation to, or the electricity generated may be sold to, a
public utility, public agency, or tribal government engaged in the
distribution, use, or sale of electricity. The district may use the electricity
generated by its facilities for its own purposes, or for the production or
transmission of water. The district shall not offer to sell the electricity
directly to customers other than a public utility, public agency, or tribal
government.
160. The
district may cooperate and contract with one or more other public agencies or
tribal governments to carry out this act.
170. The
district may contract with any public agency or tribal government for a water
supply.
221. (a) The district may accept any revenue, money, grants,
goods, or services from any public agency, tribal government, or person for any
lawful purpose of the district.
At the
Aug. 19 meeting of the water board, Herthel
specifically objected to the inclusion of the reference in paragraph 160
intimating that doing so would again give undue legitimacy to a tribal entity,
allowing a possible exercise of reserved water rights.
Governor
Schwarzenegger has three options to exercise on AB 2686 by the deadline of
Sept. 30. He can sign it into law, can veto the bill, or do nothing. If he
chooses to take no action, then the bill will become law without his signature
after Sept. 30.
There is
a possibility that the governor will veto the bill, as he has threatened to
veto all bills that cross his desk, until the legislature passes a budget.