California lawmakers have already made a decisive move in the battle against golden mussels, the tiny bivalves that are clogging waterways and pipes in the Delta.
But it’s a waiting game in Congress. There, the race is on to see whether measures to control the invasive species can be enacted before the end of the legislative year.
First detected two years ago in the Port of Stockton, golden mussels multiply by the millions and have spread across inland waterways throughout the state. They clog water system intakes, irrigation valves, and boat hulls and engine cooling inlets. The aquatic pests are believed to have hitchhiked to inland California in the ballast water of a ship from Asia, where they are common.
When it comes to legislative battles to try to stop them, there’s been one recent major victory.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Golden Mussel Response Act, authored by Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, D-Stockton. The new law could help water agencies around the state cut through any red tape in taking action to rid their systems of the rapidly producing mollusks.
The bill was considered a priority for the California Legislative Delta Caucus, Ransom said.
“We did it with urgency because the water managers were asking to be relieved from having to go through an excess of permitting, which was slowing down responsiveness,” she told Stocktonia. “Anytime you have to wait six months to respond to something that’s rapidly growing, that’s a problem.”
The problem has been especially acute for water districts, which are seeing intake pipes quickly encrusted by golden mussels in the Delta, threatening water from reaching people and farms.
Ransom said that at this point, it’s no longer possible to eradicate golden mussels, which have spread as far south as San Diego County.
“So now we need to figure out what we can do to contain and slow their impact,” she said. And the actions needed, she added, don’t all involve new laws. For instance, she said ships are being required to discharge their ballast water at sea now, not in the Delta, to prevent further infestations.
In Congress, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries held a hearing last month on the Golden Mussel Eradication and Control Act, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, D-Tracy. It’s yet to be determined whether the measure will pass by the end of the legislative session, on Jan. 3.
The bill would deliver more federal funding to try to find treatments to slow the spread of the invaders.
“We’re going to need a much bigger gun” to deal with golden mussels, Harder told Stocktonia.
U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, both California Democrats, have introduced a similar bill in the Senate in hopes the legislation can pass through both houses simultaneously.