A state law protecting white bass threatens to stall interlake tunnel.

Monterey County water projects can be slippery fish. The proposed interlake tunnel, which would create underground water storage between lakes Nacimiento and San Antonio, faces a new challenge this week in the state Capitol.

Non-native white bass were once stocked in Lake Nacimiento for sport fishing, but they’ve turned out to be voracious predators with an appetite for everything from zooplankton to crayfish, wreaking ecological havoc. State law prohibits transporting live white bass from one body of water to another, and the interlake tunnel would give them a passage into Lake San Antonio.

To get around that dilemma, State Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, introduced SB 193, which would allow bass to move between the two lakes. The bill was scheduled for Senate committee hearings April 25-26, but at the last minute Cannella asked to hold the bill, meaning he can amend it later. “That way it continues to move along in the process without resistance,” says David Orosco, a spokesperson for Cannella.

Resistance is coming from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Cannella’s colleague, State Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel. County Supervisor Mary Adams, who is on the county legislative committee, met April 20 in Sacramento with Monning and State Secretary of Natural Resources John Laird. “There was no strong support for this bill,” Adams says. “There were too many questions. Could there be environmental damage?”

Editor's note: The headline on this story has been updated to clarify the impact of the state's white bass rules. The latest challenge threatens to stall, rather than sink, the interlake tunnel project entirely. Even without a solution, there are options (albeit costly options) to keep the project moving forward.