Democrats are in complete control of California government. All constitutional statewide elected officials are Democrats, from governor on down. The Democrats have a 2/3 majority in both state Senate and state Assembly.
And since the enviro extreme types have such pull on all these Democrats, objections about hurting the snail darter or delta smelt, will override any ideas of new dams or water storage. To the extent that government approval or oversight is needed on such projects, it’s quite likely they just won’t happen, because the political will among Democrats isn’t there to do anything.
Don’t forget that it isn’t just about snail
darters and smelt. The enviro whack jobs also get their
panties in a twist over the loss of squirrel
and other animal habitat, not to mention
spawning possibilities for salmon. In addition,
more dams mean more recreation opportunities
for masses of evil humans who don’t happen to
be fellow enviro whack jobs.