The Unethical Choice for the State Water Resources Control Board
Jared Blumenthal Serves Power and Wealth—Not the People of California
By Carolee Krieger, California Water Impact Network
In California, the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) has regulatory authority over water rights, water quality, and drinking water. It is unethical for Water Board members to have direct ties with the entities they regulate.
That’s why the appointment of the newest Water Board member—Jared Blumenfeld—is deeply problematic. Blumenfeld previously served as Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), where he and other gubernatorial appointees negotiated with regulated companies and water districts to develop “voluntary agreements” that deprive the Bay-Delta ecosystem of life-sustaining flows and undermine the Water Board’s regulatory authority.
Blumenfeld has made it clear that he will vote to approve those very agreements later this year. He is also certain to support other boondoggle projects advanced by Newsom and the water industry, including the $60–$100 billion Delta Conveyance Project and the $7 billion Sites Reservoir. While Blumenfeld’s appointment may be technically legal, it is an affront to the idea of independent regulatory decision making, and very much in line with the Newsom—and Trump—playbooks.
Prior to his Water Board appointment, Blumenfeld served as Chief Executive at the Waverley Street Foundation, an organization funded by Laurene Powell Jobs, a billionaire principal investor in California Forever, a horrendous scheme to create an entirely new city of 400,000 people on protected open space between Suisun City and Rio Vista in the Delta. The impacts of this new city—which would include a massive technology “foundry”—would increase the water demands on the already oversubscribed Delta enormously. Will the billionaire’s priorities and perspectives exert any influence over Blumenthal’s decisions, especially given his aversion to rigorous regulation of our public trust resources? It would be naive to think otherwise.
Governor Newsom is no stranger to industry-friendly appointees. As he prepares to finish his term, he may place even more compromised subordinates into decision-making roles. Such appointments undermine trust in our institutions and weaken the regulatory agencies meant to protect the public and the environment. Californians deserve better.
Carolee Krieger founded the California Water Impact Network in 2001 with Dorothy Green, Michael Jackson, and Yvon Chouinard. Though a longtime activist, the Monterey Amendments prompted Krieger to formalize her efforts by establishing C-WIN as a 501(c)-3, and broadening her network of public advocates focused on California water equity issues.
The California Water Impact Network is a state-wide organization that advocates for the equitable and sustainable use of California’s freshwater resources for all Californians.
.