U.S. Lawmakers Shut Out Californians With Secret Water Deals LA Times
That inclusive and generally open process stands in marked contrast to parallel talks currently taking place in Washington on a bill to — well, to do what? We can’t be absolutely certain, because a self-selected group of House members has joined with Sen. Dianne Feinstein in unusual secret negotiations that freeze the public out.
Some participants in the secret [House] negotiations have said they intend to get an agreement by the end of the week.
But judging from a previously adopted House bill and from comments by some involved in the secret negotiations, the goal is to unravel environmental laws that protect the flow of fresh water through California’s heart and lungs — the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta — in order to ensure that large water districts and the agriculture businesses that are their members will get a larger share of water in drought years like the current one and perhaps even in wet years.
Some participants in the secret negotiations have said they intend to get an agreement by the end of the week. Only then, after deals are cut and votes are lined up, would the rest of us be let in on the terms.
More: U.S. Lawmakers Shut Out Californians With Water Deals Made in Secret - LA Times