Putting People Over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California

Memorandums

TLDR

This executive order mandates immediate water redistribution from Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Central Valley/Southern California, overriding environmental protections for increased human water use. It requires Commerce and Interior Secretaries to implement changes within 90 days, but faces likely legal challenges from state government, environmental groups, and local authorities.

This executive order focuses on water management in California, specifically addressing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta water distribution.

Key Components

Water redistribution plan:

  • Directs immediate restart of water routing from Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Central Valley and Southern California
  • Overrides previous environmental protections for Delta smelt and other fish species
  • Aims to redirect water currently flowing into the Pacific Ocean for human use

Administrative direction:

  • Orders both Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Interior to implement changes
  • Requires a 90-day progress report with recommendations
  • Builds upon policies from Trump’s first administration (2017-2021)

Justification:

  • Cites recent destructive wildfires in Southern California as evidence for need
  • Claims current water flow to Pacific Ocean is “wasteful”
  • Positions the order as prioritizing human water needs over environmental concerns

The order significantly weakens environmental protections in the Delta region, potentially threatening the survival of multiple fish species, including the endangered Delta smelt. This could have cascading effects throughout the ecosystem.

This order will likely face legal challenges from:

  • California state government
  • Environmental groups
  • Local water authorities

The order oversimplifies a complex water management system that has evolved over decades. While it may increase water availability for Southern California in the short term, it could lead to:

  • Long-term ecological damage
  • Disruption of existing water rights
  • Conflicts between different regions of California

Many, if not all, of the claims are either oversimplified or misleading.

The order represents a significant shift in federal water policy, prioritizing immediate human water needs over environmental considerations, but may face substantial implementation challenges and legal opposition.

January 20, 2025

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

SUBJECT: Putting People over Fish: Stopping Radical

Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern

California

I hereby direct the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the heads of other departments and agencies of the United States as necessary, to immediately restart the work from my first Administration by the National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and other agencies to route more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state for use by the people there who desperately need a reliable water supply.

During my first term, the State of California, at the direction of its Governor, filed a lawsuit to stop my Administration from implementing improvements to California’s water infrastructure. My Administration’s plan would have allowed enormous amounts of water to flow from the snow melt and rainwater in rivers in Northern California to beneficial use in the Central Valley and Southern California. This catastrophic halt was allegedly in protection of the Delta smelt and other species of fish. Today, this enormous water supply flows wastefully into the Pacific Ocean.

The recent deadly and historically destructive wildfires in Southern California underscore why the State of California needs a reliable water supply and sound vegetation management practices in order to provide water desperately needed there, and why this plan must immediately be reimplemented.

Within 90 days of the date of this memorandum, the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of the Interior shall report to me regarding the progress made in implementing the policies in this memorandum and provide any recommendations regarding future implementation.