Newsom's signature water tunnel is set back by California court ruling

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In a decision that could complicate Gov.Gavin Newsom’s push to build a giant water tunnel and remake California’s water system, a state appeals court has rejected the state’s plan for financing the project.

The 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled against the state Department of Water Resources’ plan to issue billions of dollars in bonds to build the 45-mile tunnel beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.The decision is a win for California ratepayers and taxpayers, said Roger Moore, a lawyer representing six counties in Northern California and two water agencies in the Delta region.He said it underlines that state agencies “have to take real steps to make sure that there is transparency and accountability.” Climate & Environment Gov.

Gavin Newsom urged lawmakers to pass legislation speeding up plans for a water tunnel.But his proposal encountered resistance and failed to advance in the Legislature this session.Upholding a 2024 decision by a Sacramento County Superior Court judge, the court ruled the water agency does not have the authority under a 1959 law to issue bonds for a new “unit” of the State Water Project, which delivers water from the Delta to farms and cities, and “exceeded its delegated authority” in planning to finance the tunnel through bonds.

Kirsten Macintyre, a spokesperson for the department, said the court didn’t say the Department of Water Resources lacks the authority to build the project or borrow funds to pay for it, but rather that the description the state presented in the case was “overly broad.” “While DWR respectfully disagrees with that conclusion, we have taken additional steps to resolve the issue,” she said in an email.Last year, the agency opened a second court case in an effort to confirm its bond-issuing authority, a step that Macintyre said was taken to “address the court’s concerns.” Climate &am...