Gov. Gavin Newsom’s attempt to circumvent parts of the state mandated environmental review process to fast track the controversial Delta tunnel has been scuttled for now.

Newsom last month tucked language fast tracking the $20 billion plus project into this year’s budget that would have effectively eliminated environmental and judicial review of the project.

State Senator Jerry McNerney, who represents San Joaquin County, said the move was essentially giving the state a blank check to float bonds to pay for the water tunnel.

On Wednesday, however, in order for Newsom to secure a budget deal to address a $12 billion deficit, McNerney and other Delta tunnel opponents got Newsom’s language dropped.

“Keeping the tunnel fast-tracking proposal out of the state budget is an important victory for California and the Delta, and for the communities, farms, and historic resources surrounding the largest estuary on the West Coast,” McNerney said.

What happens in the Delta has a major impact on San Joaquin County given 43 percent of it is within county boundaries.

The tunnel, even by the state’s own studies, would likely decimate a large swath of the county’s $3.2 billion crop production. Roughly 30 percent of the ag output that makes San Joaquin the seventh most productive farm county in the nation takes place in the Delta.

Diverting water also would create a situation that would target river tributaries that San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced counties depend on for urban populations as well as farming for use to meet court and state mandated fish flows during droughts.

McNerney said the 45-mile-long tunnel project not only would devastate much of the Delta region, but is also unaffordable and unnecessary.

“The Legislature and Governor should pursue alternatives that will cost far less and would safeguard California’s main water supply system without inflicting major harm to it, such as fortifying Delta levees and increasing water recycling, water efficiency, and groundwater storage,” McNerney said.

Assemblymember Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, joined McNerney in lauding the decision to exclude the proposal from the budget and avoiding “rushing a decision on a project of this magnitude.”

“If the Governor chooses to pursue the Delta Tunnel, I urge him to bring it forward through the standard policy committee process, where it can receive the full transparency, debate, and scrutiny it deserves,” Wilson said. “The Delta Tunnel is a massive, costly, and destructive project that demands serious review, not shortcuts. I echo Senator McNerney’s call to focus instead on smart, sustainable alternatives like levee improvements, water recycling, and groundwater storage — solutions that strengthen our water system without devastating the Delta.”

Newsom proposed cutting red tape to:

*Eliminate permit deadlines designed to protect water rights and ensure fair process;

*Drastically reduce judicial review, making it harder for communities and Tribes to challenge harmful impacts;

*Expand eminent domain authority to seize land for tunnel construction;

*Cement funding mechanisms without transparent oversight or accountability to taxpayers.

Water experts believe the tunnel would make water on the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced river watersheds vulnerable as replacement water that could be commandeered by the state or the courts when Delta diversions start undermining the fragile ecological system.

As such, it poses a potential threat — especially during droughts — to the South San Joaquin Irrigation District that supplies water to Tracy, Manteca, and Lathrop as well as area farms.

That threat extends to the entire Northern San Joaquin Valley that relies on the three rivers’ watersheds for much of its water needs.

The 36-foot wide, 45-mile tunnel would divert water from the Sacramento River near Hood.

It would dump it into Clifton Forebay northwest of Tracy where it would be pumped into the California Aqueduct for delivery to Los Angeles basin water users and large corporate farms on the southwest portion of the San Joaquin Valley.

Environmentalists note the water now sent south via the California Aqueduct benefits the Delta as it flows toward the intake pipes at Clifton Forebay.

The loss of that water, they contend, will do irreparable damage to fragile Delta ecological systems.

The Restore the Delta organization indicated Newsom’s proposal would have stripped “Californians — especially those in the Delta region — of their right to be heard on one of the largest, most environmentally risky infrastructure projects in state history. It’s a power grab disguised as climate adaptation.”

 The group noted the $20.1 billion tunnel price tag was before Trump-era tariff inflation and construction overruns or interest being factored in.

As such, Restore the Delta indicated the  tunnel could cost up to $60 billion — for a system “that would sit dry frequently due to climate-driven water scarcity.”

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com