California Water Shortage Exposes Big Government Run Amok

California has many problems these days, including a severe water shortage. Unfortunately, big-government policies at the federal level have made this problem far worse than it needed to be.

The natural drought has been exacerbated by a man-made drought: draconian application of the Endangered Species Act that restricts the availability of water for irrigation. Imposed to protect various species of fish, the water restrictions have led to fallowed farmland, unsustainable reliance on groundwater, which can cause land subsidence and environmental damage, and rampant joblessness in California’s Central Valley.

A glimmer of hope emerged this week when the U.S. District Court released a ruling finding serious flaws in one of the federal biological opinions that restricted water deliveries. The ruling could lead to increased water supplies for struggling farmers and ranchers in the Central Valley.

This is an important victory, but we must not to lose sight of the bigger picture, which is that the root of the problem lies in federal interference with state resources.

While I’m glad that the court’s latest ruling could lead to more water for California’s struggling farmers, I cannot forget that it was this same court that two years ago forced the federal government to restrict pumping under the Endangered Species Act.

Back then, the court sided with liberal environmental special interests and interpreted the Endangered Species Act in a way that forced the federal government to rewrite its biological opinions to be more restrictive. Nor can I forget that as recently as April, the same court rejected an emergency request by famers to lift pumping restrictions.

Now we’re left waiting and wondering what the next ruling will be.

It’s no surprise that, even with the occasional ruling in their favor, farmers are finding it incredibly difficult to work under this regime. Many of them make planting decisions early in the year and can’t afford to bet that a later ruling will result in more water.

The ongoing litigation exposes the fundamental irrationality of the way that the federal government uses the Endangered Species Act to interfere in state affairs. Because Congress has failed to introduce needed flexibility into the act, the water supply for millions of people is now in the hands of a single unelected federal judge.

Our state has been deprived of its rights to control its own natural resources. I believe this is an unconstitutional infringement upon states’ rights under the Tenth Amendment.

Our state must pursue an aggressive legal strategy to seek a definitive ruling that recognizes our state’s rights to control our own natural resources, putting an end to piece-meal litigation and bringing our farmers and ranchers some much needed water and certainty, both of which are in short supply under the current system.

Validation of a state’s right to administer its own water supply would also be an important victory for federalism, that traditional principle of American governance increasingly under attack by the Obama administration.

I’ve also been a vocal proponent of congressional action on this issue. When I released my water plan last summer, I called on Nancy Pelosi to support legislation that would allow some flexibility in the Endangered Species Act. She voted for similar legislation when the state of New Mexico faced a drought crisis and needed relief, but has refused to do the same for her own state.

My gubernatorial opponent Meg Whitman has also refused to engage with the pressing legal issues which have led to restricted pumping and increased hardship in the Central Valley.

In fact, Whitman has a track record of using her wealth to oppose Central Valley farmers. In recent years, she gave $300,000 to the Environmental Defense Fund, a powerful special interest. This organization has sided against Central Valley farmers in court and denies that Congress is partially to blame for the drought.

Like the federal healthcare legislation, the man-made drought in California is another example of big government run amok. Those of us who believe in traditional principles like federalism must do everything we can to fight these unconstitutional federal power-grabs, including using our state’s full authority to get water where it’s needed.