Sacramento – Assemblywoman Alyson Huber introduced a bill Thursday that would prohibit construction of a “peripheral canal” around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta without a full fiscal analysis and a vote of the state legislature. District 10 representative Huber announced the bill in an e-mail Friday, saying: “It is important that we maintain legislative oversight of large-scale projects and not delegate that authority to unelected bureaucrats.” Huber said she was “very concerned that the current water policy bill provides a clear path to building a canal and this (bill) ensures we get answers to some very important questions, and give the Delta a voice in the process.” Huber, who represents Amador County, co-authored the bill with state Senator Lois Wolk, of District 5. Wolk in the release said: “The people of California deserve to know that due process will take place before tax payers and rate payers are asked to spend billions of dollars on a peripheral canal.” Wolk chairs the Senate Select Committee on Delta Stewardship and Sustainability. She said: “This bill ensures that the legislature is fully informed and that historic protections are maintained prior to moving forward with such a large-scale project.” Huber said the bill would also require the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s office to conduct an economic feasibility analysis “to ensure that Southern California ratepayers who are supposedly being asked to cover the cost of this massive project actually know how much this will cost.” It would “also ensure that the canal will not have a negative impact on water in the Delta and upstream communities – be it for our local cities or our farmers,” she said. A summary of the bill said it “would prohibit the construction of a peripheral canal … unless expressly authorized by the Legislature.” It defines the peripheral canal as one “that conveys water from a diversion point in the Sacramento River to a location south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.” The bill “would also require that the construction and operation of a peripheral canal not diminish or negatively affect the water supplies, water rights, or quality of water for water users within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed.” The bill was introduced by Huber, with Wolk as primary co-sponsor, and other co-authors, Assemblymen Bill Berryhill of District 26 and Wes Chesbro of District 1. Huber was in Amador County last week and told members of the Amador County Business Council about her opposition to the canal, and plans to put limits on it. Story by Jim Reece This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it