State Bill To Protect Federal Rivers From Environmental Rollbacks — Passed!
California Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) introduced AB 2975 at the beginning of 2018, a bill to provide state protection for federal Wild and Scenic Rivers in California threatened by environmental rollbacks proposed by the Republican-led Congress and the Trump Administration.
AB 2975 is a simple bill that provides the California Natural Resources Secretary with the authority to provide state wild and scenic river protection for a federal Wild and Scenic River in response to legislation passed by Congress or an executive order signed by President Trump that either eliminates federal protection for all or part of a National Wild and Scenic River in California. The bill also would provide the Secretary the authority to provide state protection if Congress or Trump attempts to weaken the provision in the federal act that prohibits new dams, reservoirs, and diversions on a federal river. The bill directs the Resources Secretary to hold a public meeting prior to adding a threatened federal river to the state system.
With the support of the Republican-controlled Congress, the Trump Administration has already proposed to reduce the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante Canyons National Monuments in southern Utah, overturn an Obama-era decision prohibiting the construction of a destructive road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, significantly increase logging in California’s National Forests, overturn the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan protecting 6.5 million acres of the California desert, and revisit the greater sage-grouse conservation plan. It’s only a matter of time before Trump turns his attention to weakening wild and scenic protections for rivers threatened by unneeded and destructive dam projects.
AB 2975 would provide the state with the means to protect the Merced Wild and Scenic River from previously passed legislation by the House of Representatives to eliminate federal protection for the lower segment of the river to allow for expansion of McClure Reservoir — if such legislation was reintroduced, passed, and signed by the President. The reservoir expansion would drown nearly a mile of the wild Merced, which provides outstanding whitewater boating and hiking opportunities. The reservoir expansion would also flood some of the known populations of the state-protected Merced River limestone salamander (it only lives in the Merced River canyon) and a portion of the Bureau of Land Management’s Merced River Wilderness Study Area. Raising New Exchequer Dam to expand the McClure Reservoir also raises serious dam safety concerns.
The Republican-controlled House has passed Merced de-designation legislation at least three times since 2011, only to be stymied in the Senate. AB 2975 would ensure the Merced and other federal Wild and Scenic Rivers in California can be provided state protection in the face of Congress’ and the Trump Administration’s on-going efforts to roll-back of environmental law and regulations. AB 2975 would provide a state backstop of protection to about 750 miles of federal Wild and Scenic Rivers in California, including the Tuolumne, Merced, Middle Fork Feather, Kings, Kern, Big Sur, and Sisquoc Rivers, as well as numerous smaller streams such as Sespe Creek, Piru Creek, Cottonwood Creek, Palm Canyon Creek, and the upper Owens Headwaters.
Any such Secretarial additions to the state Wild and Scenic Rivers System and the power to make such designations sunset December 31, 2025.
More than 35 conservation organizations and outdoor businesses are supporting AB 2975. The Assembly passed AB 2975 and it cleared the Senate on August 9. Governor Jerry Brown sign AB 2975 into law on August 27, 2018.
You may want to send the Governor a thank you note, he doesn’t get them as often as he would like.
Text of AB 2975
Letters to the Legislature
FOR et al AB 2975 Support Letter