Supporters Join Pacific Forest Trust in Urging the Governor to Sign AB 2480

We’re one step away from officially recognizing source watersheds as essential to California’s water system. Assembly Bill 2480 (Bloom) has moved to the Governor’s desk for signature. Thanks to all who signed on in support of this bill (below), we’ve made terrific progress.

September 6, 2016

Honorable Edmund G. Brown
Governor, State of California
State Capitol, First Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814

RE: AB 2480 (Bloom) – Source Watersheds are Green Infrastructure

Dear Governor Brown,

We write to express our support for AB 2480, which establishes in state policy that source watersheds are an essential and integral part of our water infrastructure. The source watersheds that gather, filter, and deliver water to our built “gray” infrastructure are an essential part of the water system.

AB 2480 further finds that “As climate change advances, the source watersheds that provide the majority of the state’s drinking and irrigated agricultural water are of particular importance to maintaining the reliability, quantity, timing, and quality of California’s environmental, drinking, and agricultural water supply.” This concept is consistent with the state Water Action Plan as well as the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) framework for Improving the Resiliency of California’s Headwaters. Both recognize the necessity of better management and conservation of source watersheds.

Treating key source watersheds the same as built infrastructure has two significant advantages among others:

Built infrastructure utilizes a financing approach to raise sufficient capital to encompass a whole project, not relying on annual grants from general obligation bonds; and
Traditional infrastructure projects are designed and built pursuant to a plan that ensures that the project will accomplish the goal and has adequate funding to complete the project. In contrast, watershed investments have been scattered acts of restoration that do not aggregate up to a significant watershed impact.

This innovative approach to financing and implementation helps advance another key goal of the Administration’s Water Action Plan.

Thank you, and we urge your signature on AB 2480.

Laurie Wayburn
President
Pacific Forest Trust

Rico Mastrodonato
Government Relations Representative
Trust for Public Land

Kim Delfino
State Director
Defenders of Wildlife

Marty Coleman
Executive Director
Bear-Yuba Land Trust

Juan Altamirano
Associate Director, Public Policy
Audubon California

Dr. Elizabeth Dougherty
Director
Wholly H2O

Soapy Mulholland
President and CEO
Sequoia Riverlands Trust

Jena Price
Legislative Affairs Manager
California League of Conservation Voters

Geoffrey McQuilkin
Executive Director
Mono Lake Committee

Chuck Mills
Director of Public Policy and Grants
California ReLeaf