Save the California Delta Alliance (STCDA)

Photo by the Department of Water Resources

Here’s a very good, strong letter written by the Sierra Club opposing the tunnel and reprimanding Newsom for his water policy directions. Here are some excerpts but it’s worth reading the entire email here.

First, the governor is on a track that seems driven by adherence to some of Governor Jerry Brown’s worst water policies. And, second, he’s not getting good advice.

As they did with Brown, the bad water policies related to the San Francisco Bay Delta and a tunnel are overshadowing the good water policies the administration is advancing.

Newsom’s water problems started on election day in 2018, even before votes had been counted in the governor’s race. That day, as lieutenant governor, he signed onto a letter with then-Governor Brown, instructing the State Water Board chair to postpone a public hearing set for the very next day about new water rules affecting rivers that flow into the Delta.

Furthermore, about those Delta flow rules recommended by the Water Board that were backed by environmentalists and supported by science, Newsom’s approach is to let the big water contractors opt out by agreeing to a “voluntary agreement” approach. I liked their analogy:

To put that in perspective, when a big water contractor asks for a voluntary agreement, it’s kind of like a kid asking for free run of a candy shop. Forever.

And here’s their critique of Newsom’s water policies in general:

On the one hand, he signed an executive order that promises to make regions more water resilient and develop a portfolio of needed projects.

On the other hand, his administration produced a draft portfolio that relies on—wait for it—the Delta tunnel, the epitome of non-regional non-resilience.

It’s a good read.

Click here to read their entire email.