Salazar wakes up to reality

Author:  Damien M. Schiff

The Department of the Interior announced today that the Bureau of Reclamation will increase the water allocation for those who receive Central Valley Project water south of the Sacramento Delta, from 5% of contractual allotment to 25%.  That's definitely good news for farmers, farm workers, and all the people of the San Joaquin Valley.  But what caught my eye with today's announcement is Secretary Ken Salazar's clear (and maybe first-time) concession that the water cutbacks are not entirely the result of natural causes.

This is good news for the large majority of water users served by the Central Valley Project, but we realize that South-of-Delta agricultural water service contractors face serious water supply challenges, in part as a result of three consecutive years of drought and operational constraints imposed on the CVP to address water quality and fish species of concern.

"Operational constraints . . . to address . . . fish species of concern."  Congratulations to Secretary Salazar for finally admitting the obvious.