Save the California Delta Alliance (STCDA)

This week Save the California Delta Alliance joined with numerous other entities including environmental groups, commercial fishermen, water diverters and local governments in protesting the Delta Stewardship Council’s adoption of the Delta Plan. To view the STCDA Law Suit Filing click here.

The STCDA suit represents the interests of the large number of members in Discovery Bay, who “own waterfront homes with attached docks in the Delta”, and others who “swim, fish, boat, water-ski, wakeboard and otherwise recreate in the Delta. STCDA members earn their livings in Bay-Delta related businesses including marinas, fishing enterprises, water sports enterprises, Delta waterfront real estate agencies, and many other Bay-Delta related enterprises.” It stated that STCDA also represents the wider spectrum of membership including other Delta communities and the Bay.

Like the other suits, we object that the Delta Stewardship Council did not start with the scientific Delta Flows as directed by the Legislature. The Delta Flows are needed to identify how much water is available for export and how much must flow through the Delta to sustain it. The State Water Resources Control Board did produce its Delta Flow report in August 2010 but the answer was that the Delta needed less water exported out, not more. That was the wrong answer for the DSC so they have ignored the Delta Flows.

Our suit was able to take the Delta Stewardship Council to task for not specifically taking a position with regards to the still ‘on-hold’ Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project and The Plan makes no recommendations regarding them. As the last email to the membership noted, the Bacon Island Bridge is undergoing a one-month maintenance down-time in October during which, if the two-gates had been installed in 2009 as planned, Discovery Bay boats would not be able to come or go during that entire month. In addition, on Memorial Day, there was a tragic accident south of Mildred Island where a truck ran off the road into the slough and several people were missing. We were not allowed to pass through that slough to get from Mildred Island, through the Bacon Island Bridge to Discovery Bay due to the rescue operation and had to go the long way up Middle River and down Old River where the Two Gates would have not allowed us to return home with our grandbaby after the long weekend. We need to remain diligent to insure that gates do not get installed throughout the Delta, blocking navigation and causing other issues.

Our lawsuit further pointed out that the council has abdicated its responsibility to consider broad policy alternatives to “Big Conveyance” and have not followed the legislature’s mandate to “expand statewide water storage”. At prior DSC meetings we had requested the council consider a meaningful re-operation and conjuctive use strategy yet nothing is included in the Delta Plan and that the billions spent on the tunnels would be better spent on a series of smaller groundwater recharge projects that would be much less locally disruptive, spare Delta communities from annihilation, and would actually achieve the goals of providing a more reliable water supply to the state, restoring the Bay-Delta ecosystem, and expanding statewide storage capacity as mandated by the legislature. The re-operation and conjuctive use alternative is the one we have been raising money to hire scientists to help defend.

We are fortunate to have Michael Brodsky as a Discovery Bay resident and STCDA legal council. He once again has donated his time and expertise, working long hours and last weekend to put this suit together pro bono. Thank you again, Mr. Brodsky!

Links to news coverage of the law suits:

• Dan Batcher’s article ‘Avalanche Of Lawsuits Challenges Delta Plan’
• A List of the Lawsuits
• Bob Wright explaining why Westlands Water District sued the Delta Plan

Today the Delta Stewardship Council met to review the final Delta Plan and approved it, voting 7-0.

There were speakers from the Sierra Watershed, State and Federal water contractors and Department of Fish & Wildlife, Water Branch who mostly commended the work done on the Delta Plan and recommended adoption.

However, there were very strong objections raised during the public comment period from environmental groups. Bill Jennings, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, CSPA, reminded the panel that currently there are water rights for five times the amount of available water in the watershed. “This is really the source of the California Water Crisis but this is not discussed or analyzed in the Delta plan. In 2010 the Legislature directed the SWRCB to prepare the Delta Flows. The state board concluded that substantial increases – 75% of Delta outflow – should be outflow. How can you have a comprehensive plan if you don’t acknowledge the reality that there is a conundrum there? You had this golden opportunity to set forth the standards and attainment of how those standard would be met. That might have given us a glimmer of hope. Instead we are looking at at least 8 lawsuits about how we are going to restore this estuary before we destroy it.”

Nick DiCroce from the Environmental Water Caucus added that the Delta Plan “paves the way for a BDCP project which in it’s current state will compound the degradation of the Delta.” He recommended the council “adopt a policy that each project submitted to the DSC be required to satisfy three analytical steps to be certified by the Delta Plan: (1) Water availability analysis (2) Cost benefit analysis and (3) Public trust balance analysis.”

Two Oakley citizens spoke. Ms. Skoog had never attended a DSC meeting before but raised concerns with the tunnel project, whether anything of it’s size had ever been built before under a fragile estuary and raised concerns about project costs and results, citing the Bay Bridge’s overruns and although it’s goal was to be earthquake-proof, we now find it is not. Paul Segar from Oakley compared building the tunnels before managing the need for more water than exists as “we are hemorrhaging the use of water in our cities and our farms. And it occurs to me we are doing open heart surgery before stopping the bleeding. It will be very expensive operation unless we stop the bleeding by penalizing misuse and encouraging smarter use of water especially southern farms that are growing in the desert regions.”

Mr Charles Gardner, Delta Vision Foundation encouraged adoption of the plan but said the council needs to address a number of the key issues we really need to address in the near term such as the levees, the performance measures, the finance plan and above all the implementation committee.

Gary Bobker, Bay Institute and NRDC, commended the way the plan does a good job of describing the Delta as a place. But stated that it is missing clarity about the outcomes and performance measurements; hence the current Delta Plan will not solve the problem of reducing the pressure on the Delta Ecosystem and reducing the risk to the Delta.

Councilwomen Miller, Stockton, urged the council to not approve the plan; rather to continue to work with local stakeholders to bring forth a plan that works for all.

The Council then voted to approved the plan, 7-0.

Governor’s Big Mistake

Last week SFGate publishes article “Governor’s Delta Plan is a Big Mistake”.

It’s a great article. Concise. A must-read.

Delta Plan Comment Period Ends

Thanks to everyone who submitted comments to the Delta Plan! We all have concerns from making sure that our home values are protected, our boating access assured, local farmers and businesses are not impacted and the environment maintained.

STCDA’s legal council submitted Rulemaking comments for the Delta Plan finding the Delta Plan inadequate since it does not take account of the peripheral canal or provide the Council adequate criteria to assess the canal when it comes for approval and to insure adequate protection of the Delta after the canal goes into operation. Additional concerns are the Council’s decision to not study conveyance options/alternatives.

If the Delta Plan, which is supposed to be the regulatory document for Delta operations from now on, doesn’t consider the canal, which is the biggest threat to the Delta, then the Plan can’t be complete!

Lets Take our Message to the Delta Council!

Next week, Thursday January 24th is an important public hearing meeting for the Delta Stewardship Council to take additional public input on the Delta Plan Rulemaking procedures. STCDA representatives plan to attend and encourage all others who can to show up and demonstrate local concern for the Plan and process. Having faces in the room is a great way to make a strong impact! The meeting is from 9:30 – 11:30 AM at the Ramada Inn & Suites, 1250 Halyard Drive, West Sacramento, CA 95691 – see Delta Council public hearing. People are welcome to show up at the Boardwalk Grill 5879 Marina Road in Discovery Bay at 8 AM to grab a hot coffee and carpool together. See you there!