Two Central Valley Democrats are pitching a new water bill designed to protect water access for the region’s farmers.
Rep. Adam Gray (D–Merced) introduced the Valley Water Protection Act last week and was joined by Rep. Jim Costa (D–Fresno).
The big picture: The Valley Water Protection Act would amend the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to protect farmers from enforcement actions that could pose national security threats or regional economic harm.
- Permit applicants can apply for an exemption if an agency action would impair national security or result in significant adverse economic impacts.
- This means that a permit application could request an exemption, and the Secretary of the Interior would then be required to report to the Endangered Species Act Committee on how national security or economic impacts would be affected before the Committee decides on the exemption application.
Zoom out: The bill has widespread support from water users across the Central Valley, including the Turlock Irrigation District, the Merced Irrigation District, the Modesto Irrigation District, the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority and the Friant Water Authority.
What they’re saying: “Valley farmers and producers are the backbone of our community’s economy but increasingly have to worry about whether they will have reliable access to the water necessary to continue their production,” Gray said. “For years, greedy state and federal bureaucrats have attempted to rob the Valley of its water in favor of San Francisco and Los Angeles elites, jeopardizing the agricultural production that funds our state and feeds the country. By introducing the Valley Water Protection Act, I’m sending those who would dry out the Valley a clear message: the tap is turned off.”
- Federico Barajas, the Executive Director of the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority, said the implementation of the ESA in California’s water management no longer aligns with impacts of the Central Valley Project.
- “CVP facilities, like Shasta Reservoir and Jones Pumping Plant, are being required to primarily operate to mitigate species impacts beyond the impacts of the CVP facilities themselves, to the detriment of the communities, farms and ecosystems south of the Delta that are reliant on the water provided by the CVP,” Barajas said. “Congressman Gray’s legislation provides an opportunity to address this by opening a pathway for a review, under provisions in the current Endangered Species Act, of economic or national security impacts of ESA requirements. This may lead to striking a more appropriate balance between our nation’s security and protection of our nation’s species, and we applaud his introduction of this legislation.”
- Friant Water Authority Chief Operating Officer Johnny Amaral said the bill would modernize the implementation of the ESA to allow for the consideration of economic impacts of federal actions.
- “Coupled with House Natural Resource Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman’s legislation, the much-needed bipartisan emphasis and support for sensible reform will go a long way towards making the ESA work better for both species and rural agricultural communities,” Amaral said.
What we’re watching: Along with Gray’s bill, Westerman introduced the Endangered Species Act Amendments Act of 2025, which would streamline the ESA permitting process and establish clear definitions within the act.
- It would remove duplicative permitting processes and would allow states to develop recovery strategies for species that are candidates for listing or already listed as threatened.
- Westerman’s bill would also prohibit judicial review within the five-year monitoring period after a species is delisted, among other things.
