Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/299919
If you're a government agency, how do your perpetuate your existence? Identify a crisis, "fix" it — which, in turn, creates a new crisis — and then "fix" that. Repeat as needed. That's what I think about every time I hear some news- paper editorial writer or ac- ademic call for statewide groundwater regulation in California. The drumbeat has been growing louder the last few weeks. Some of the state's largest newspapers have pub - lished lengthy stories about land subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley—a serious problem — and using terms like "unrestrained" or "re - lentless" to describe current groundwater pumping pat- terns. The stories don't mention the significant efficiency im- provements California farmers have made. They don't men- tion that farmers and their land provide the greatest op- portunity for groundwater re- charge, yet farmers are fre- quently castigated for using "too much water." But the stories always point out that California has no statewide permit system for groundwater drilling, and that it's one of the few states that doesn't. The implication is clear: California should impose statewide groundwater reg - ulation to keep farmers from draining our aquifers. The sto- ries typically don't quote any- one who thinks it's a bad idea. I think it's a bad idea. So does Farm Bureau. First of all, I should point out that Farm Bureau does not oppose groundwater man - agement — but we do oppose statewide regulation. We have at least a 20-year history of support for the creation of lo - cal groundwater management plans that respect the overly- ing landowners' water rights. Those rights are crucial, be- cause the value farmers pay for their land is inextricably tied to the water beneath their land and to their ability to ac - cess it when and if needed. In a 1994 news release, Farm Bureau urged farmers to become involved in develop - ing a local groundwater man- agement process, and offered its legal services to farm- ers interested in forming lo- cal groundwater management districts. Farm Bureau policy continues to support the abil- ity of water users anywhere in California to organize and ad- minister their own groundwa- ter basin management pro- grams. Local management makes sense in California for the same reason statewide regula - tion doesn't: When it comes to groundwater, California isn't one state — it's more like 40 states. We have many types of aquifers, each unique and dependent on different con - ditions — so much so that a one-size-fits-all approach will result in disaster. Our government has failed in its oversight of our surface wa - ter infrastructure and will likewise fail with groundwa- ter. We don't have a groundwa- ter crisis because of a lack of state regulation. We have a groundwater crisis because we have a surface water cri - sis, driven by inept planning and oversight of our surface supplies. Those newspaper stories about groundwater contained a telling point buried within their historical narrative of land subsidence. They noted that subsidence had been a serious issue in the San Joa - quin Valley in earlier genera- tions — until the State Water Project and the federal Cen- tral Valley Project brought surface water to the area, at which point, as the Sacra- mento Bee reported, "subsid- ence largely stopped." It has started again be- cause the surface water has been taken away, by redirec- tion of that water to environ- mental uses and now by a se- vere drought year on top of two previous dry years. When sufficient supplies of surface water exist, farmers generally rely on groundwa - ter as their "bank account," to be drawn on in times of shortage. Underground wa- ter supplies can recover quickly during wet years. But when surface water short- ages become chronic — as they have in parts of the Cen- tral Valley and elsewhere — that bank account gets drawn down further. Water shortages have be - come chronic because gov- ernment has succumbed to myopic environmental in- terests and, as a result, has failed to respond to the forces that have created the crisis: Endangered-species laws remain inf lexible and ar - chaic. We have developed new technologies to improve the human-carrying capacity of the earth, but environmen - talists would rather impose their elitist views that nature must survive the way it has since the beginning of time. New water projects get "studied" to death. There has been $52 million worth of pa - perwork generated on the proposed Sites Reservoir, for example, so much that we could practically build the project out of that paper it - self. Big-money environmental groups wield their inf luence to force government into a "conservation only" approach that clearly has failed, and failed miserably. Ironically, many of those who warn about climate change and its impacts fail to acknowledge the need to build storage to adapt to the very conditions they portend. And now, in the wake of land subsidence caused by lack of surface water, comes the cry to the government: "Do something! Anything! Even if it's wrong!" Those people want the same government that has completely and thoroughly mismanaged our surface wa - ter system to take over the groundwater aquifers, too. A crisis can bring out the best in people, but it can also lead to calls for action — any action — that allow desper - ately bad ideas to gain a foot- hold. Statewide groundwater regulation in California is one of those desperately bad ideas. Instead of focusing on statewide control of our groundwater, the government ought to do its job in provid - ing for the future needs of our state and develop water solutions we know work: ad- ditional water storage both above and below ground, more investment in water re- cycling, desalination and effi- ciency. The state should leave the management of ground- water to the local communi- ties who understand it and de- pend upon it for their survival. Paul Wenger is president of the California Farm Bureau Federa- tion. Reprinted with permission. Paul Wenger Groundwater: One-size-fits-all won't fit Cartoonist's take By Tom Purcell Get this: The U.S. Supreme Court is about to decide whether false accusations and mudsling- ing during political campaigns are illegal. As it goes, during the 2010 election in Ohio, an anti-abor - tion group, the Susan B. Anthony List, sought to launch a billboard campaign that accused then- Rep. Steven Driehaus, a Dem - ocrat, of supporting taxpayer- funded abortion — because he backed ObamaCare. But an Ohio law that makes it illegal to knowingly or recklessly make false statements about an opponent during an elec - tion killed the ad. The billboard owner, worried about getting sued, declined to run it. After the election, the Susan B. Anthony List challenged the Ohio law as unconstitutional — that it infringed on the group's First Amendment right to free speech. The Supreme Court will decide the case soon, and I surely hope the Ohio law is over - turned. Though a strong argument can be made that ObamaCare will ultimately cause private in - surance funds to finance abor- tion, here's what is also true: False statements and lies are the bread and butter of American politics. We want our politicians to lie. The greatest political yarn spinner in my lifetime was Pres - ident Bill Clinton. He protected us from boring government stuff. So long as the stock market was high and the budget was in sur- plus, his antics, and frequent whoppers, were sources of great amusement. There is a line on acceptable political yarn spinning, however, and Clinton finally did cross it ("I did not have sexual relations with that woman."). If only he'd heeded the old motto: You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but sooner or later, Hillary is going to find out and throw a lamp at you. That brings us to President George W. Bush. People kept "misunderestimating" him, un - aware of how clever the fellow really was. Take our war with Iraq. Bush said it was about Saddam Hussein flouting U.N. resolutions. He said it was about Saddam's weapons of mass de - struction, which could have ended up in the hands of terror- ists who could really do us harm (though we never found those WMDs). What he didn't tell us was the other stuff he and his team were really up to: They wanted to scare the bejeezus out of the other dictators in the Mid - dle East, who respect only force and action, establishing a strong presence there to give us a chokehold on Syria and other terrorism sponsors by cutting off billions in illegal oil dough, and maybe taking a pass through Iran to shut down its nuclear am - bitions. President Obama has been king of the not-so-true. Billions in stimulus money didn't come close to producing the unem- ployment reduction he promised. And who can forget his most memorable line of all: "If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. Pe - riod." Of course our politicians con- ceal, deceive and mislead. They are responding to our cue. We disdain complexity and conflict and punish any politician (think President Jimmy Carter) who doesn't keep them away from us. We prefer Santa Claus (Clin - ton, Obama), not the high school coach who makes us do wind sprints (Mitt Romney). We want more free government good - ies and when the rich pay their fair share, we'll be able to pay for them (Obama). We want bigger Social Secu - rity checks and lower withhold- ing taxes. We want bigger tax cuts and a smaller deficit. And anybody who is dumb enough to tell us we can't have everything is never going to get elected in this country. So I hope and pray the Ohio law is overturned by the Su - preme Court. Falsehood in poli- tics is one of the few amusements we have to look forward to these days. Tom Purcell, author of "Misadven- tures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist. Send comments to Tom at Purcell@caglecartoons.com. Commentary We want politicians to lie Greg Stevens, Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EdiTorial Board How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151 ext. 112 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FaCEbook.CoM/ rbdailynEwS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @rEdbluFFnEwS I pity the separatists Editor: I feel pity for the people who support splitting from Califor- nia. They are trying to get rid of the largest employer in the area – the State of California. The State of California pays our teachers, builds the roads that tie each of our small communities together; it provides a large portion of our fire and law enforcement; it takes care of our disabled and poor el - derly, and on and on. We do not pay taxes for the State of California – it uses taxes from other Californians to help us because it is expensive main - taining small rural communities like ours. Why do some of our neighbors want to invite more unemploy - ment, abandon our schools and bring third world status to most of us? I believe they are afraid of the changes in the world, so hope to return to a mythical past – a blend of old western movies and television shows, often repre - sented in a fantasy about Texas, which has lousy wages, and an economy based on oil and some of the poorest and most polluted counties in the US. When asked about schools, they say parents will pay to edu - cate their children, or about the State of California highway sys- tem – we can have gravel roads, or law enforcement — they will just deputize someone's couch- potato gun-nut relative. If asked about help for the frail elderly or disabled, they recommend any - one who needs any help get out — just leave. If you want to see their dreams alive, go to any third world country. There are no laws, no schools, no regulations, no taxes and nothing but chaos and poverty while they plunder their world as everyone takes ad - vantage of them. Diana Thompson, Red Bluff John Payne photo Editor: I am not a rodeo fan, and have never been to the Round-Up. Yet I was impressed by your April 18, 6-column photo of John Payne. Great shot. This one will be used to represent Red Bluff for years hence. However, I wonder how many violations of Vehicle Code and local ordinances could an astute student of law find in that photo and the ac - companying description of the project? Blocking traffic, driv- ing opposing traffic, parking in an intersection, jaywalk- ing photographers, no city per- mits, are just a few that comes to mind. Still it is a great picture, de- spite the criminal violations. My hat is off to the whole gang and the Daily News for publishing the evidence. John Elko, Red Bluff letters OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, april 23, 2014 » MORE AT FaCEbook.CoM/rbdailynEwS AND TwiTTEr.CoM/rEdbluFFnEwS a6