• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Nature, Environment, History & Politics

The Valley Citizen

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About
  • RSS Icon

Still Passing the Buck on Water

July 16, 2015 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

Steve Knell
Steve Knell

For decades now, water woes in the San Joaquin Valley have been blamed on the state and federal government and especially on the “enviros,” those effete coastal dwellers who prefer fish to people.

So it was that at last Tuesday’s Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) Board of Director’s meeting when rice farmer Robert Frobose brought up OID’s broken promises about possible impacts from annexing Trinitas Partners, General Manager Steve Knell was quick to change the subject to state and federal efforts to protect fisheries and the San Joaquin Delta ecosystem with increased flows along major rivers.

“Like most environmentalists, they want it all,” said Knell.  Never mind that flow requirements for fish are established by biologists, not environmentalists. Knell was trying to divert attention away from the Trinitas annexation and other OID snafus onto what he thinks is a common enemy.

Knell didn’t want anyone remembering that earlier in the year the OID failed to complete a $3.9 million water sale because it omitted due diligence required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). And he was clearly dismayed when Linda Santos, an OID district resident, brought up OID’s failure to follow a state mandate to change voting boundaries based on changed demographics in the district.

Santos asked why the OID had hired CH2M Hill, an engineering firm frequently employed by OID, to perform the redistricting. At that point, OID Director Frank Clark decided to give Steve Knell a hand.

“I have full confidence in CH2M Hill,” said Clark, and then launched into what sounded very much like a campaign speech (he’s up for election in November). “Our enemy is not Trinitas,” he said, “Our enemy is Sacramento and that water board. Four of the five members are environmentalists and they want our water.” Clark was referring to the California State Water Resources Control Board and apparently unconscious of an irony bordering on self-parody.

Clark himself is the only non-farmer on a five member board of directors notorious for delivering water to district farmers at less than the cost of operation and maintenance. It’s Clark’s signature on the annexation agreement with Trinitas, an agreement OID and the Local Agency Formation Commission said would have no negative impacts.

It’s also Clark’s district from which most of the complaints have come about wells running dry, traffic from Trinitas’ trucks and employees, windblown dust and pesticides, and noise from industrial-sized pumps. Like the rest of OID’s Directors, Clark has supported water sales outside the district, made no moves to obey the state’s directive to realign district boundaries, raised no issues about possible negative impacts from bringing Trinitas into the district, and didn’t point out the need for a CEQA review when OID went ahead with plans for this year’s water sale.

While these issues are pertinent to OID’s membership, they are the last things management and the board of directors want to talk about. So, in the long and hallowed tradition of San Joaquin Valley water movers, OID invokes government and environmentalists as the real enemy.

There are signs that the tactic is wearing thin. When Clark said, “We’ve delivered more water than almost any district in the state and we’re being ridiculed,” Robert Frobose quickly responded, “That’s not what you’re being ridiculed about.”

And after the meeting, when asked what he thought about OID’s attempts to shift blame onto the state and federal governments, Frobose said, “They’re just trying to deflect attention away from their own mismanagement. It’s not going to work.”

Frobose might be right. In today’s drought-plagued water world, everyone is paying much more attention to how water is managed. Passing the buck isn’t going to distract anyone with a dry well, reduced water allotment, or gerrymandered district. There’s too much at stake.

 

Filed Under: Featured, History

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

California's coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: 'The devil is already here'
California’s coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: ‘The devil is already here’
California’s coronavirus strain is more transmissible than its predecessors, is more resistant to vaccines and may cause more severe cases of COVID-19.
www.latimes.com
More Than 150 Biz Leaders Endorse Biden's Sweeping COVID Package
More Than 150 Biz Leaders Endorse Biden’s Sweeping COVID Package
More than 150 business leaders from various industries have signed a letter backing President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief…
talkingpointsmemo.com
Exclusive: Defeated and impeached, Trump still commands the loyalty of the GOP's voters
Exclusive: Defeated and impeached, Trump still commands the loyalty of the GOP’s voters
www.usatoday.com
The Christian Prophets Who Say Trump Is Coming Again
The Christian Prophets Who Say Trump Is Coming Again
In the growing community of charismatic Christian prophecy, faith in Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House is a new dividing line.
www.politico.com
AOC raises $1 million in Texas relief, heading to Houston as Ted Cruz douses Cancun flames
AOC raises $1 million in Texas relief, heading to Houston as Ted Cruz douses Cancun flames
The New York congresswoman said she would travel to Houston to highlight the problems faced by Texans hit by power outages and freezing weather.
www.newsweek.com
Rush Limbaugh Did His Best to Ruin America
Rush Limbaugh Did His Best to Ruin America
How the right-wing talk radio icon corrupted the Republican Party, spread hate, racism, and lies, and laid the groundwork for Trumpism
www.rollingstone.com
?I Don?t Trust the People Above Me?: Riot Squad Cops Open Up About Disastrous Response to Capitol Insurrection
“I Don’t Trust the People Above Me”: Riot Squad Cops Open Up About Disastrous Response to Capitol Insurrection
Interviews with 19 current and former officers show how failures of leadership and communication put hundreds of Capitol cops at risk and allowed rioters to get dangerously close to members of Congress.
www.propublica.org
Opinion | Trump’s Non-Vindication
Opinion | Trump’s Non-Vindication
He may run again, but he won’t win another national election.
www.wsj.com
Convicted or not, Trump is history – it's Biden who's changing America | Robert Reich
Convicted or not, Trump is history – it’s Biden who’s changing America | Robert Reich
Republican infighting has created a political void into which Democrats are stepping with far-reaching reforms
www.theguardian.com
Lancet: Trump Policies Responsible for at least 200,000 COVID Deaths (vital/detailed/devastating/referenced) ? Veterans Today | Military Foreign Affairs Policy Journal for Clandestine Services
Lancet: Trump Policies Responsible for at least 200,000 COVID Deaths (vital/detailed/devastating/referenced) Veterans Today | Military Foreign Affairs Policy Journal for Clandestine Services
www.veteranstoday.com
Trump?s Lawyers Mocked Democracy and Reasoned Debate
Trump’s Lawyers Mocked Democracy and Reasoned Debate
Rationality and demagoguery fought it out on Senate floor, but the better arguments won’t convince most Republicans.
www.thenation.com
Biden Halts Trump Rule That Gutted a Landmark Bird Protection Law
Biden Halts Trump Rule That Gutted a Landmark Bird Protection Law
The rollback of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was set to take effect February 8, but now the new rule is in trouble.
www.audubon.org

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design