Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/324279
GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIALBOARD 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 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151ext. 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 TheStateWaterResources Control Board (SWRCB) ad- opted emergency regulations last week authorizing the cur- tailment of water diversions, including pre-1914 and ripar- ian water rights, on Ante- lope Creek, Deer Creek and Mill Creek. In adopting the emergency regulations, the SWRCB relied on changes to the Water Code made as part of the emergency drought leg- islation recently signed by Governor Brown. This is the first time such water curtail- ments have been issued in the state under the emergency drought rules, setting a dan- gerous precedent for water rights holders throughout the state. The impact this regula- tion will have on local farmers and ranchers in these water- sheds is significant. For exam- ple, without stock water and irrigation for pasture, ranch- ers will have to have to move or sell their livestock, or buy expensive supplemental feed and haul water, as many did for much of last winter. For farm- ers with permanent nut crops dependent on diversions from the creek, it could mean loss of this year's crop and poor shoot and bud growth in com- ing years. Deer Creek Irriga- tion District estimates a poten- tial loss of $17 million in that watershed alone. The legal rationale behind the SWRCB's decision is that diverting surface water from these creeks is a "waste or un- reasonable use" of water when there is insufficient water in the creeks to provide certain flows for Spring-run salmon, a threatened species. This is an entirely new application of the "reasonable use" doc- trine. Historically, the SWRCB and courts applied the rea- sonable use doctrine to pre- vent the waste or unreasonable use of water through a judicial process. By adopting emer- gency regulations, the SWRCB avoided the due process pro- tections that are inherent to a judicial proceeding (unbiased decision-maker, opportunity to present evidence, cross ex- amining witnesses, etc.) The emergency regulations pro- vide no process to define what is "reasonable" or "unreason- able." For example, is it rea- sonable to prevent any diver- sions if there are 1,000 fish in the stream? What if only 10 or even 1 fish is in the stream? What if the water temper- atures rise to a level that it would kill the salmon, as it of- ten does in June? What if the natural flows are too low to do the fish any good? What weight is given to the financial impact on water users and local tax revenues? The regulation does nothing to consider what is reasonable in these scenarios. Without such guidance, these questions are left to the whim of regulators. The SWRCB allowed very little time for affected farm- ers to understand the propos- al's implications. On May 20th, the SWRCB held a hearing in Sacramento about the pro- posed regulation. Several im- pacted Tehama County farm- ers attended and spoke at the meeting, which seemed to help the SWRCB better understand the human side of this issue. Al- though all of the public com- ments were against the pro- posal, the board adopted the emergency regulation with the caveat that voluntary agree- ments between State and Fed- eral wildlife agencies and the local water users would be hon- ored, but that the regulation would be enforced if the agree- ments were deemed inadequate by the SWRCB. All three local watersheds have decades-long histories of cooperating with trustee wild- life agencies to protect fish mi- grations. The water users in Mill and Antelope Creeks re- cently reached voluntary agree- ments with the California De- partment of Fish and Wildlife and National Marine Fisheries Service to ensure water flows for the coming season and Deer Creek is still in discussions. But these agreements can hardly be considered "voluntary" when the SWRCB holds the hammer of curtailments (and substan- tial penalties) over the heads of the water users. Clearly, this is a troubling de- velopment for local farmers and ranchers. While protecting our natural resources is important, it must be done in balance with other interests, and in accor- dance with due process stan- dards that allow all voices to be considered. MichaelVaseyispresidentofthe Tehama County Farm Bureau. Michael Vasey State water grab hurts local farmers Cartoonist's take I generally pay no attention to 70th anniversary observances, saving up my energies for the 75-year "diamond jubilee" mile- stones. I am making an exception for June 6, the 70th anniversary of D-Day. To put it bluntly, five years could make a lot of difference. According to recent Veterans Administration statistics, of the 16 million Americans who served during World War II, only slightly more than one million remain alive, and they are dying at the rate of 555 a day. I want to be able to say thanks before another 200,000 vets pass from the scene. The tyranny-thwarting team- work, bravery and sacrifice of the Greatest Generation (both in the military and on the home- front) was remarkable. They were the right people for the right time. Of course my friend Dinsdale had to raise a lot of impertinent questions, and speculate on how D-Day and the war as a whole could have turned out differently if the military had to deal with the distractions, personalities and social trends of today. For instance, could secrecy have been maintained if the "Loose lips sink ships" slogan had been replaced with "Loose lips need botox?" What if the forces that landed at Normandy had to take into consideration not only the full moon, weather conditions and the location of German troops, but also the scheduling of "Downton Abbey?" Could the Allied forces really have pushed on to Berlin if they had to stop at each village and explain, "No, this is really a con- quering force. We are not a flash mob?" Would music from back home have been as inspiring if it con- sisted of ditties such as "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree — That Thing Is Genetically Mod- ified?" Would the fighting forces have been too mellow if the familiar "Smoke 'em if you got 'em" had been replaced with "Smoke 'em if the feds don't block your access to the dispensary, dude?" Could Operation Overlord have succeeded if some rabble rouser had encouraged the troops to de- clare, "I ain't landin' on no beach without the right SPF?" Would anyone have passed ba- sic training if the drill sergeant had barked, "Well, the manual is all well and good, but let's just see what the founding fathers had to say about the care and mainte- nance of your rifle?" Would morale have suffered if barracks pinups of voluptuous babes had been replaced with ubiquitous tabloid "baby bump" photos? Could America have main- tained its integrity if FDR had told Hitler, concerning the con- centration camps, "You didn't build that?" Would anyone have fought as hard if they knew the Nuremberg War Trials would be just a "photo op" for ambassador-at-large Den- nis Rodman to chill with his new honorary homeboys? At least Dinsdale did concede that the other enlistees wouldn't have made fun of good ol' Cle- tus Bugtussle for being the goofy farm boy from Possum Cross- roads, Arkansas. No, he would've been made fun of for being the goofy farm boy from Possum Crossroads, Arkansas wearing Google Glass. All in all, I think Dinsdale does a disservice to those who fought and died, or fought and came back to guide the nation through the latter half of the 20th century. They would have excelled, no matter what the obstacles. Spend June 6 seeking out vet- erans to thank. And not obsessing over whether Spike Jones singing "Der Fuehrer's Face" hurt Adolf's self- esteem. Danny Tyree welcomes reader e- mail responses at tyreetyrades@aol. com and visits to his Facebook fan page Tyree's Tyrades. Danny Tyree D-Day at 70, some nagging questions Tom Purcell Our country is going to the dogs. I speak of a recent ar- ticle on the Fast Com- pany website that touts the benefits of employ- ees bringing their dogs to work. According to vari- ous studies, the article re- ports, dogs in the work- place improve productivity and reduce stress. It's true that stress has been around a long time. It's a costly work hazard that results in em- ployee turnover, absenteeism and waning morale. And, says the American Institute of Stress, our still-troubled economy and constant reports of foreclo- sures and layoffs are making em- ployees even more anxious and stressed. So some companies — ea- ger to improve productivity and profitability — have been do- ing all kinds of things to ad- dress the challenge. They're of- fering yoga classes to employees. They're providing stress-man- agement courses, back rubs and stress hotlines that overanxious employees can call 24 hours each day. They're setting up tents where employees can nap on their breaks. And they're letting employees bring their dogs to work. Look, the origin of stress goes back to the early days of man- kind, when many creatures didn't view us as their superi- ors, but as their lunch. When a man saw a lion coming his way, he was overcome by stress. The stress brought on an adrena- line rush, and the adrenaline sent one message, loud and clear, throughout the man's body: RUN! But long after mankind's stress mechanism was needed for survival, we continue to suf- fer from it. For much of human history, many have suffered poverty and brutality, not know- ing where their next meal would come from and not knowing what rival would invade their vil- lage. That's stress. Now, I know our lives are hectic today. We have to keep up with rapid advances in technology. We live in distant cities, far away from our fami- lies and friends. In many fami- lies, both parents work, which keeps households busy and scat- tered. And there is the looming worry about the economy, gov- ernment overspending and the potential for a real barnburner of a collapse. But our solution to these stress-inducing matters is to bring our dogs to work? That may be a nice, tempo- rary Band-Aid for some, but the real solution is to get to the root cause of most of our stress: an out-of-control federal govern- ment that is increasing regula- tions, spending and taxes at re- cord rates, which is burdening private companies and putting more jobs at risk. According to The Hill newspa- per, the Obama administration increased the Code of Federal Regulations by 7.4 percent in its first three years — compared to 4.4 percent during George W. Bush's first term. "More 'major rules,' those with an annual economic impact exceeding $100 million, were en- acted in 2010 than in any year dating back to at least 1997, ac- cording to the (Congressional Research Service)," The Hill re- ports. A study by George Mason University's Mercatus Center found that the number of rules and regulations ballooned from 71,224 pages in 1975 to 174,545 pages in 2012. Here's what should really be stressing us out: that so few peo- ple are aware of the correlation between big, costly government and the negative effects of grow- ing red tape on private employ- ers and economic vitality. Yoga, stress hotlines and dogs in the workplace are a nice touch, but until we correct the root cause of our economic woes, we will not return to the eu- phoric levels of growth and pros- perity we have enjoyed for much of this country's history. Without robust growth, we will never have the means to meet our looming entitlement obligations — heck, we don't have enough tax revenue coming in now to meet our current obli- gations. Rather than address these core challenges, our current po- litical "leadership" is making them worse. Like I said, our country is go- ing to the dogs — and there's no greater source of stress than that. 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. Dogs can't root out root cause of stress Tom Purcell The tyranny-thwarting teamwork, bravery and sacrifice of the Greatest Generation (both in the military and on the homefront) was remarkable. They were the right people for the right time. All three local watersheds have decades- long histories of cooperating with trustee wildlife agencies to protect fish migrations. Without robust growth, we will never have the means to meet our looming entitlement obligations. OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, June 4, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6