In comments after his address at the “CA Water 2.0 event” sponsored by the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) today in Sacramento, Governor Jerry Brown described the controversial Delta Tunnels plan as “absolutely necessary” for California’s future and dismissed the growing number of project critics as a “small group of people who absolutely hate it.”
On his way out of the Sacramento Convention Center after he made his presentation, Brown dismissed the notion that the project is being built as part of his “legacy” as Governor.
“Some of the people, particularly some of the press, think this is some kind of legacy or pet project. It has nothing to do with that,” Brown said.
“The only reason I'm working on this is I believe — and the scientists and engineers that I've spoken to say — it's absolutely necessary for California's future. And that's why I'm working on it,” said Brown.
“And although there are a small group of people who absolutely hate it, I know they're not right. We'll keep going forward and we'll get it done,” the Governor concluded.
During his address, Governor Jerry Brown promoted “conveyance” — building the twin water tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Water Delta — as one of the key actions needed under the California Water Action Plan to “solve” the state's water and ecosystem problems as the population grows.
“Our climate is rapidly changing, our population is growing and more extreme weather looms on the horizon. Now is not the time to shirk from responsibility,” said Governor Brown. “Storage or conveyance alone will not solve all of our problems. Recycling, groundwater management and conservation, individually, won't get us there either. It will take all of the above. We must think differently and act boldly -- and that's exactly what California is doing.”
”California now has 39 million people,” he emphasized. “That’s a fraction of the people that were here for 10,000 years. Not only are there 39 million people, but they own 32 million cars that use 18 billion gallons of gasoline and 4 billion gallons of diesel that create greenhouse gases and pollution.”
To further the co-equal goals of ecosystem restoration and water supply for this growing population, Brown said the current water infrastructure is “outdated” and needs to be modernized.
“Today, it’s raining and there will be more water,” the governor said Thursday. “Because the fish like to swim around where the pumps are, and because we have biological opinions, and various laws to protect species, the pumps won’t operate at full capacity. That’s the reason we want to change the very outdated infrastructure of the whole Delta system. It was built before we knew so much of what we know today. We know today that we have to draw the water out further north from the Sacramento River — and build the ‘conveyance’ correctly with all values kept in mind to get more water reliably.” (www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/...)
He and other administration officials touted the 10 “primary actions” that the administration has taken and is continuing to take to address the “challenges” of uncertain water supplies, drought, water quality, habitat loss, flooding and climate change, and to deliver a “more reliable water supply.” Developing “a more reliable and sustainable” water supply in the Delta” is primary action #3.
In April 2015, state and federal officials announced the separation of the Delta Tunnels Plan into two separate components, the California WaterFix and California EcoRestore, to replace the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to supposedly meet the “co-equal goals” of water supply reliability and habitat restoration in the Delta.
“The purpose of California WaterFix is to end the current pattern of reversed water flows in the Delta caused by water pumps. EcoRestore is the state’s plan for restoring at least 30,000 acres of habitat,” according to the Governors Office.
The other actions include making water conservation “a way of life” in California; increasing self-reliance and integrating water management across levels of government; protecting habitat for fish and wildlife; preparing for more frequent and severe droughts; delivering safe water for everyone; increasing flood protection; efficiently operating the State Water and Central Valley projects; and seeking new water resources funding sources.
For the complete list of actions, go to: www.gov.ca.gov/…
The Central Valley Business Times has posted two videos produced by Gene Beley on their website.
The first video is from Governor Brown's address:
The second video is from the 15 minute press conference held by administration officials, including John Laird, California Natural Resources Secretary, Chuck Bonham, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director, and Mark Cowin, Director of the California Department of Water Resources:
Delta opponents: Californians don't like project and Governor knows it
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta, challenged the Governor’s comment that the tunnels opponents are a “small group of people.”
“There were over 30,000 comments against the California Water Fix submitted to the state and federal water agencies challenging the tunnels project’s EIR by the end of October,” she said. “While 30,000 people is a small number in terms of California’s total populations, it is a huge amount for opposition to a project that with no public outreach or transparency. The numbers of people opposing the Delta Tunnels are growing daily. Californians don’t like the project and the Governor knows it,” she said.
The coalition opposing the tunnels includes a diverse group of family farmers, Delta residents, Indian Tribe leaders recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, businesspeople and elected officials, including Members of Congress.
“There is not one credible environmental group that supports the project; the only one that backs the tunnels is Jerry Meral’s Natural Heritage Institute,” said Barrigan-Parrilla.
She also criticized the Governor’s claim that $100 million has already been spent on the Delta Tunnels, “as if that is an accomplishment.”
“Spending a lot of money isn’t much of an accomplishment if you are re-proposing a project that still cannot meet the standards required under the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act,” she said. “Federal and state agencies will still be required to approve it before any construction begins, and the EPA has already given the latest version of the Tunnels a thumbs down.”
Barrigan-Parrilla also addressed comments by Mark Cowin, Director of the California Department of Water Resources, who claimed the Tunnels could be used on a day like today, even though outflows have been less in the past few weeks than during the drought due to so much pumping.
“How will the Delta ever recover if freshwaters are never allowed to flow through it, even in rainy seasons?” she asked.
“Clean water standards would not ever be met for the 4 million people who live, work, farm, recreate and drink water from the Delta. In addition, CA Water Fix documents show that the new pumps would decimate salmon smolts, so what the Governor is proposing is to save smelt while decimating our iconic salmon runs,” Barrigan-Parrilla concluded.
Congressmembers ask Brown for detailed accounting of how $3.6 million for tunnels would be used
As the Governor was speaking at the conference, six Northern California Congressmembers released a letter they sent to Brown asking for a detailed accounting of the $3.6 million allocated for incorporation of the California Water Fix into the Delta Plan. Congressmembers Jerry McNerney, Jared Huffman, Mark DeSaulnier, John Garamendi, Mike Thompson, and Doris Matsui signed the letter.
“We would like to know how the $3.6 million will be used and would appreciate a more detailed discussion with your administration as to why budgetary funding was deemed necessary for the regulatory review of the WaterFix tunnels at this time,” they wrote.
“Because the WaterFix tunnels has not received the state or federal permits to begin construction and there remains serious concerns about the design, efficacy, and cost of the tunnels, we believe assigning resources is premature and inappropriate,” they said.
The letter also stated that the funding could be “better spent on other solutions,” noting that if the tunnels are constructed “not a single drop of new water will be added to California’s Water Supply.”
You can read the full letter at: drive.google.com/...
The language at issue in Brown's proposed budget is located on page 107 in the pdf:
"Update of the Delta Plan—An increase of $3.6 million General Fund for the Delta Stewardship Council to implement the Delta Science Plan and incorporate the WaterFix Delta conveyance project into the Delta Plan." (www.ebudget.ca.gov)
Tunnels threaten salmon, Delta smelt and other fish species
Tunnels opponents say the project would hasten the extinction of imperiled Sacramento River Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, Delta and longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other fish species, as well as imperil the salmon and steelhead populations on the Trinity and Klamath rivers.
Delta advocates point out that some species may become extinct even before Brown has a chance to build his “legacy” project, the Delta Tunnels, due to abysmal state and federal government water management policies.
Fish species ranging from endangered Delta smelt to striped bass continued to plummet to record low population levels in 2015, according to the annual fall midwater trawl survey results released by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) on December 18.
Only 6 Delta smelt, an endangered species that once numbered in the millions and was the most abundant fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, were collected at the index stations in the estuary this fall. The 2015 index (7), a relative number of abundance, “is the lowest in history,” said Sara Finstad, an environmental scientist for the CDFW’s Bay Delta Region.
Likewise, longfin smelt, a cousin of the Delta smelt, declined to the lowest abundance index (4) in the history of the survey. Only 3 longfin smelt were collected at the index stations throughout the three-month period. For more information, go to: www.dailykos.com/...