Taxpayers for Common Sense, joined by the National Wildlife Federation, added in a statement that "this legislation could be enormously costly and open the door to ill-advised and environmentally destructive water projects."
Connor also warned that stripping away the cost-sharing requirements "may result in fewer overall projects being funded" as claims are placed on Bureau of Reclamation funds…
"It's important to retain the commitment of non-federal investment," Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael Connor said, further citing the virtues of "fiscal restraint and economic self-sufficiency."
I think we are going to see more of this as the year progresses and people wake up to the price tag. I have said repeatedly that one of the problem with the stakeholder processes (Delta Vision, BDCP, CalFed) is that there is no one at the table representing taxpayer interests. Since we are talking about major expenditures of taxpayer funds as well as very large increases in water rates, it seems that any stakeholder meeting is incomplete without taxpayer and consumer advocates.
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