The strong push to begin building
California's bullet train by one branch of state government is generating
blow back from another branch, as powerful agriculture interests continue
to raise concerns about the impact the project will have in the Central Valley.
The California State Board of Food and
Agriculture voted Tuesday to send a letter to rail authority Chairman Dan
Richard, asserting that the bullet train agency had failed to properly
address the agricultural industry's concerns.
A particular concern is the proposed
high-speed rail route, which at various points veers out of highway and utility
corridors into farmland, the letter says.
The route has generated opposition up and
down the Central Valley from farmers and major agriculture interests who accuse
the rail authority of violating the state’s environmental review process.
Gov. Jerry Brown, who is pushing the project, is seeking legislation that would
limit environmental lawsuits that could delay construction.
Last week, farm bureaus in Madera and Merced
counties filed suit against the state, seeking a halt to the start of
construction planned for later this year.
Craig McNamara, agriculture board president
and an organic walnut grower near Davis, said farmers' concerns could be
relieved if communications were improved.
The letter called on the authority to create
an “office of ombudsman for agricultural impacts” and to revive an agricultural
working group that could help mitigate some of the project's impacts on
agriculture.
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