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| A Run on the Water Bank |
| A determined investigator pursues a Los Angeles billionaire for allegedly seizing control of the state's water supply. It's Chinatown again, Jake. Read the article here. |
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Assemblyman Bill Berryhill Takes Assembly Members on Bipartisan Tour of the San Joaquin Delta
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August 21: SF Examiner Article on The Delta (Click Here)
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CANAL OR TUNNEL WOULD DEVASTATE LOCAL ECONOMY
BY CRAIG W. ANDERSON
Several agencies have all presented plans, suggestions, white papers, analyses and ideas supporting the construction of a peripheral canal, conveyance facility, and/or tunnels to remove water from the Delta in order to "save" it. Those agencies include CalFed, the Department of Water Resources, the Public Policy Institute of California, the Delta Risk Management Strategy Phase 1, the Suddeth, Mount and Lund (2010) Levee Decisions Study, the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force, the Delta Reform Act of 2009, and the ongoing Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP).
The primary destination of the water would be the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.
However, in all of the analysis, commentary and conclusions, the impact of a canal on the agricultural economy has been largely ignored.
The San Joaquin Farm Bureau News has reported on the varied and serious water issues facing the Delta, including conveying water around it and the threat this poses to agriculture and now the Economic Sustainability Plan for the Delta (ESPD) says a canal or tunnel would cause economic disaster for agriculture and businesses in the Delta and around San Joaquin County.
"Agriculture is the economic driver of not only the Delta but San Joaquin County as well," said Bruce Fry, SJFB president. He said the various plans promoting water diversions around the Delta would affect "the other counties that rely on the Delta water for many diverse uses."
Research team formed
The Delta Protection Commission engaged a team of more than 15 experts led by Principle Investigator Jeffery Michaels of the University of the Pacific's Business Forecasting Center to determine the effects on the Delta of removing water by a canal/tunnel system to be shipped south.
BDCP plan costs Delta millions
The report says, "If operated as proposed in the draft BDCP, isolated conveyance would decrease Delta agricultural production by about $50 million [annually] and would have a negative impact on tourism development, and the rural quality of life."
And if a large canal or tunnel system was to maximize water supplies diverted southward, "south Delta salinity could triple, and agricultural production losses could increase to $200 million [annually]," notes the report, adding that larger amounts of water would be shipped out of the Delta due to "financial and political pressure to increase exports to high levels."
Ag is Delta's foundation
"This draft report confirms what we already knew, that ag is vitally important to the Delta region and that shipping water around the Delta south would devastate ag," said Bruce Blodgett, SJFB executive director. "Other Delta industries don't compare to agriculture. Agriculture can be counted on year after year; it is the permanent base industry for the county, unlike tourism or recreation."
He also said, "Ag adds value-added to every step – supply, transportation, jobs, retail, insurance, fuel and much more – and this is often ignored in this debate. Every aspect of ag's contributions to the economy of the Delta, San Joaquin County and California must be considered when any plan regarding the Delta is proposed."
Delta's economy vital
The report says Delta agriculture supports 12,700 jobs, $1.1 billion in value-added, and nearly $2.8 billion in economic output into the five Delta counties – San Joaquin, Contra Costa, Sacramento, Yolo and Yuba.
Delta agriculture also supports more that 22,400 jobs, more than $1.9 billion in value added, and more than $4.6 billion in economic output for California.
The five counties benefit from Delta-generate recreation and tourism to the tune of 2,700 jobs, $152 million in value-added, and about $284 million in economic output; California benefits from more than 4,900 jobs, $324 million in value-added, and $600 million in economic output.
Misinformation, errors rampant
Other analyses note that if agriculture suffers from loss of water, recreation and tourism would replace ag's income.
Not so, said the Economic Sustainability Plan: "It is unrealistic to expect that recreation and tourism could replace agriculture as the Delta's economic driver" because ag creates five times more jobs and seven times more value-added income than recreation and tourism, which have been declining for more than a decade.
The report notes that improving the visibility and recognition of the Delta as a place will benefit both Delta ag and tourism; the levees are critical to economic sustainability and are in much better condition than the "thousand miles of fragile" levees in need of billions in repairs as is usually noted in media and agency reports – in fact, about 370 miles require about $500 million to repair, money that could be generated by "strategic use of existing bond funds."
Also, the capacity of Delta tourism infrastructure and enterprises "is insufficient to capture significant income from increased visitation, and "several influential studies of Delta issues have significant errors in economic analysis.
The errors originate in "various Public Policy Institute of California [PPIC] reports that have overly influenced decision-makers about the Delta economy, economics of the peripheral canal, and investment decisions in Delta levees."
Some of the errors and limitations appearing in the PPIC documents resulting in bias that favors a peripheral canal include: a failure to use conventional, scientifically accepted methods to evaluate investments; "inexplicably" ignoring market values for fishery improvements; non-market fishery values are disregarded because they're "too controversial"; the authors present their endorsement of a peripheral canal as "a scientific conclusion, rather than a subjective opinion"; and various assumptions create a bias that "favors [a] peripheral canal.."
Also, the current costs of isolated conveyance are much higher than the PPIC assumed for a peripheral canal and the "strong recommendation of a peripheral canal was not scientifically supported by their own framework."
The Delta Risk Management Strategy (DRMS) Phase 1 results have also been frequently misused and misinterpreted by others, including the Department of Water Resources, and the PPIC.
BDCP bad
The BDCP comes under fire for many ill-conceived proposals, which is not a surprise to Dante Nomellini, attorney, water expert and spokesman for the Central Delta Water Agency. "Sending more water south and to the West Valley has always been the BDCP's goal. And that's not surprising, considering there is no Delta representative on the BDCP management committee. Politics obviously play a huge role in this."
Among the bad BDCP proposals noted in the Economic Sustainability Plan are: a conveyance facility to remove water from the Delta that would cause a 20 to 40 percent decline in Delta agriculture which would be "devastating to the Delta economy"; agricultural production value would fall by $50 million to $200 million annually; creating 65,000 acres of tidal marsh habitat that would reduce annual agricultural production by $84 million, and generate little, if any, compensating tourist spending.
If any proposed "solution" to the Delta's water woes significantly harms agriculture it could cause a severe economic debacle because, Nomellini said, "Anything other than a strong ag presence won't keep the Delta viable and sustainable."
Water myths
Other reports fostering animosity toward Delta farmers include the 2009 Water Myths report that intimates Delta farmers and residents are villains while "casting south of Delta Farmers, urban users, and environmentalists in a positive light."
"Incredibly, the 2009 Water Myths report labels water subsidies to CVP farmers a myth, while denouncing 'large' subsidies for Delta farmers' levees," said the Environmental Sustainability Report. However, in reality, Delta farmers have historically paid much larger cost shares – 50 percent – for levee improvements through subventions, and the subsequent levee upgrades provide benefits to many non-ag groups, including water exporters.
The report notes that interest subsidies for the CVP are "much larger than the levee subvention program, and provide purely private, rather than statewide benefits."
The Economic Sustainability Plan for the Delta concludes that "all of these influential reports have serious problems, and have incorrectly influenced decision-makers towards alternatives that do not support economic sustainability in the Delta" and this has led to many agricultural water and urban water exporters – such as the San Diego Water Authority – to doubt "whether an isolated conveyance is a good investment for them."
"It is clear," said the report, "that our claim that the PPIC exaggerated the value of a peripheral canal to water exporters is most likely correct."
Don't rely on PPIC and others
The draft Economic Sustainability Plan for the Delta suggested that the Delta Protection Commission recommend the Stewardship Council become less reliant on PPIC analysis and UC-Davis analysts and find "more impartial and accurate sources when it comes to economic analysis."
The commission and the council need to sponsor more economic and social research through the science program to develop a "broader array of sources and knowledge to support the important economic decisions that will be part of future updates to the Delta Plan."
What it boils down to, Nomellini said, is that the DWR and the BDCP and the others "want to build a conveyance facility to take water when there isn't water to take." |
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Finding adventure on the delta
BY DIANNE HARDISTY, Contributing writer
dhardisty@bak.rr.com | Monday, Jul 25 2011 01:47 PM
Last Updated Monday, Jul 25 2011 01:49 PM
Three days in the Delta
The types, times and durations of California Delta visits are limitless. The following is just my favorite itinerary. Note: Wherever there is a river, levee or slough, there is a road. This trip can be taken by boat or car.
I'm a wimp. For me, roughing it is booking a budget motel. I tow Old Smokey, a 1983 outboard motor boat, behind an aging Tahoe from Bakersfield to my "base camp," a budget motel at the Richards Boulevard off-ramp of I-5 in Sacramento. The motel is located near a ramp to launch the boat into the American River, at its intersection with the Sacramento River.
Monday: Leave Bakersfield in the morning. Drive north on Highway 99 for about 280 miles, or about five hours, non-stop. Arrive in the late afternoon. Check into the motel. Slide the boat into the river. Power up to the Virgin Sturgeon, a shoreside restaurant on the Sacramento River. The Virgin Sturgeon isn't much to look at, but it has a great name and to-die-for food. The restaurant, which is located on Garden Highway, can be reached by car. After dinner, return to the launch and pull the boat out of the water. Call it a day.
Tuesday: Get up early. Eat breakfast. Head the boat down the Sacramento River to Walnut Grove. If you are in a car, drive south on I-5 and turn west at J11. A farming community, Walnut Grove has a few shops, a couple of good restaurant, fruit stands and fuel. Follow the road as it loops north and you will reach the city of Locke, an old Chinese community with interesting shops, restaurants and Al the Wop's, a well-known bar and grill.
The day will be spent exploring Walnut Grove and Locke, as well as Grand Island, on the other side of the Sacramento River. Just down the river from Walnut Grove is the Ryde Hotel, a Prohibition-era speakeasy that is now open for weddings and weekend stays. Other river stops include Isleton and Vieira's Resort, where food and fuel are available. The Delta Daze Inn in Isleton, the Ryde Hotel and the entire city of Locke are reported to be haunted. But that's another story.
Rounding the corner from the Sacramento River into Steamboat Slough reveals Hidden and Snug harbors. These are private resorts. Anchored along the slough are large, live-aboard motor and sailboats. Less than a mile before Steamboat Slough completes the circle around the island is the Grand Island Mansion, a four-story, 58-room Italian Renaissance villa built in 1918 for Louis Meyers, an orchard magnate who entertained luminaries of the arts, as well as the politically powerful. It is now used for private functions, such as weddings.
Boating back to Sacramento can take more than an hour. The trip is shorter by car. It's been a full, sun-soaked day of exploring. Dinner and sleep sound good.
Wednesday: Drive south on I-5 to Highway 4, south of Stockton. Turn west toward Holt to reach Whiskey Slough Harbor, a boat launch and restaurant. From there, launch your boat, or follow the vaguely marked levee roads in your car as they snake their way across McDonald Island and Lower Jones Tract to reach Bethel Island, the location of many resorts, marinas and restaurants. This is a genuine taste of what farming is like in the delta. The first time we took this route we got lost. We were able to find our way out of the high-walled maze of levees and into the more defined San Joaquin River only because we had a GPS and stopped at a marina, where we bought a map with coordinates. Return to Whiskey Slough Harbor to begin the trip back to Sacramento.
Thursday: Head home to Bakersfield with plenty of delta tales.
Talk about the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta these days often deteriorates into a heated water rights debate that is simplistically depicted as a battle between saving some stinking little fish and delivering much-needed water to thirsty Central and Southern California.
But this decades-old water war, which is far from being settled, has overshadowed a California treasure that is unknown to many of the state's residents.
Considered to be the most extensive inland delta in the world, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta features approximately 60 islands that are protected by 1,100 miles of levees. It is home to 3.5 million people, including 2,500 family farmers. While most of the region is devoted to agriculture, the delta offers an abundance of boating, fishing, hunting and tourism opportunities, including wildlife viewing and photography. Its natural beauty and colorful history recently spawned a proposal to establish the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Natural Heritage Area.
A left turn somewhere near Lodi
But for those of us who love to jump into our cars and go exploring, the delta provides an unparalleled back-road adventure.
Fresh out of college and a newbie refugee from Southern California to the San Joaquin Valley, I discovered the delta in the 1970s, while living in Hanford. With nothing to do one boring weekend, my husband, Jack, and I climbed into our Volkswagen van and headed north on Highway 99. A left turn somewhere near Lodi landed us in the middle of a snarl of levee roads that led to an old Chinese settlement called Locke.
It was love at first sight. We had stumbled onto a piece of California that we never knew existed. It was like stepping back in time, where the pace of living was oh so much slower, the hospitality was genuine and the food -- including my first taste of crawdads -- was delicious.
The twist and turns of levee roads expose funky old stores, delicious ice cream shops, haunted hotels and scruffy old guys selling asparagus from the trunks of their cars.
The years that followed our first visit have been filled with many more bumpy rides along narrow delta roads that are interrupted by drawbridges and ferries that lift travelers across rivers and levees.
A move to Bakersfield a decade later and our purchase of a 16-foot outboard motor boat from Galey's Marine Supply has meant that our annual delta excursions now are done from the surface of the many waterways that eventually empty out into the San Francisco Bay.
Crawdads washed down by a cold beer a summer delight
Whether it's from the seat of a car or bow of a boat, visitors will never forget their trip down the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, across bays named Suisun, Honker and Grizzly, and around islands named Grand, Staten and Empire. A trip to the delta is simply unforgettable.
There is no "good time" to visit the delta. Each season paints a different face on the rivers, sloughs and towns. The delta hunkers down in the winter, comes to life in the spring, bustles with activity in the summer and braces for the cold, wet months ahead in the fall. A bowl of crawdads washed down by a cold beer is a summer delight. But as the cold and fog set in, the smell of bacon and eggs sizzling in the roadside cafes is the draw for townsfolk and visitors, alike.
There are many ways to visit the delta. While hotel rooms are scarce, hearty travelers can find an abundance of campsites and rustic cabin rentals in several resorts, with one of the largest being Vieira's Resort on the Sacramento River, near Isleton. Go to www.deltaboating.com for lodging and visitor information. Additional information about visiting the delta can be found on the Chamber of Commerce's website at www.californiadelta.org. The chamber also produces an email newsletter, the California Delta Scuttlebutt, which lists activities and events.
A delta visit requires a good road map and a marine map. Both will provide critical navigation information, including GPS coordinates, as well as the location of rivers, sloughs, levees, marinas, resorts and services, such as food and gas. Whether you are in a car or boat, knowing the distance between fuel stops is important.
Keep in mind that where there is a levee, slough or river, there generally also is a road. And those roads lead to picturesque bridges -- stationary and drawbridge. They also lead to ferries, which were once the most common way to hop between islands.
They run on delta time
Today, four ferries remain in operation, but only the "free running" Real McCoy, which crosses Cache Slough to Ryer Island, and the cable-drawn J-Mack, which crosses Steamboat Slough, are accessible to the general public. There is no set operating schedule. When the pilot sees a sufficient number of cars waiting at the shoreline, he loads them onto his ferry and takes them across the water. Don't be in a hurry. Just about everything, including the ferries, operate on Delta time.
The farms, towns, bridges and ferries that stand today are reminders of the delta's rich history. Originally the area was a swampland occupied in dry months by the Miwok Indians. But folks who tired of looking for gold in the 1850s recognized the delta's rich soil and potential for farming.
These early settlers built levees and reclaimed the first parcels of land. After the completion of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, the levee-building was turned over to an abundance of Chinese laborers. The delta town of Locke, which still stands and now is the focus of a redevelopment effort, was built by and for these laborers.
Many of the fragile levees and sloughs that comprise the delta were dug from the dirt by hand more than a century ago. The heated debate over the delta's future was best summarized earlier this year by David Hayes, deputy secretary of the federal Department of the Interior. Hayes noted the delta is "one seismic event away" from collapsing, halting the flow of water to Southern and Central California, and washing away delta islands, farms, businesses and homes.
Agreement over a "fix" to preserve this California treasure -- likely requiring the construction of a canal or tunnel to divert water around the delta and take pressure off the fragile levees -- is caught in a heated fight between competing interests. Regrettably, no end to the fight seems to be in sight. |
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) propose to implement the Franks Tract Project to improve water quality and fisheries conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta). DWR and Reclamation are evaluating installing operable gates to control the flow of water at key locations (Threemile Slough and/or West False River) to reduce sea water intrusion, and to positively influence movement of fish species of concern to areas that provide favorable habitat conditions. By protecting fish resources, this project also would improve operational reliability of the State Water Project (SWP) and Central Valley Project (CVP) because curtailments in water exports(pumping restrictions) are likely to be less frequent.
The project gates would be operated seasonally and during certain hours of the day, depending on fisheries and tidal conditions. Boat passage facilities would be included to allow for passing of watercraft when the gates are in operation. The Franks Tract Project is consistent with ongoing planning efforts for the Delta to help balance competing uses and create a more sustainable system for the future. Preparation of a joint environmental impact report/environmental impact statement (EIR/EIS) for the project is underway, and public input is strongly encouraged.
Franks Tract Project Objectives
The overall purpose of the Franks Tract Project is to modify hydrodynamic conditions to protect and improve water quality in the central and south Delta, and to protect and enhance conditions for fish species of concern in the western and central Delta. An auxilary benefit to better water quality and fishery protection is greater operational flexibility for pump operations in the south Delta.
Specifically, DWR and Reclamation have identified the following objectives for the project:
- Modify hydrodynamic conditions for fish species of concern to positively influence their movement to areas that provide favorable habitat conditions.
- Modify hydrodynamic conditions to improve water quality by reducing higher salinity sea water intrusion into the central and south Delta.
Project Background
DWR and Reclamation have conducted studies to evaluate the feasibility of modifying the hydrodynamic conditions near Franks Tract to improve Delta water quality and enhance the aquatic ecosystem. The results of these studies have indicated that modifying the hydrodynamic conditions near Franks Tract may substantially reduce salinity in the Delta and protect fishery resources, including the sharply declining populations of delta smelt, a federally listed and state-listed species that is endemic to the Delta. The studies are available in the Project Library section on the right sidebar.
The project gates would be operated seasonally and during certain hours of the day, depending on fisheries and tidal conditions. Boat passage facilities would be included to allow for passing of watercraft when the gates are in operation. The Franks Tract Project is consistent with ongoing planning efforts for the Delta to help balance competing uses and create a more sustainable system for the future. Preparation of a joint environmental impact statement/environmental impact report (EIS/EIR) for the project is underway, and public input is strongly encouraged. The public scoping meetings were held on October 6, 7, 8, and 9, 2008. The scoping report is available for download in the Project Library section on the right sidebar.
Work on the Franks Tract Project slowed down in 2008, following the freeze on the use of bond money for various State programs. Fortunately, some funding for the project remained available even during the freeze and allowed work on the project to continue. One report, Initial Alternatives Information Report for the North/Central Delta Improvement Study (Delta Cross Channel, Franks Tract, and Through-Delta Facility Evaluation), was completed and is available at Reclamation’s website (http://www.usbr.gov/mp/frankstract/docs/NoCDIS_IAIR_Final_2010-06-15.pdf). This report identified two alternatives to be carried forward for further analysis: an operable gate on Threemile Slough and an operable gate on West False River.
To provide comments via this Web site, or to sign up for the Franks Tract Project mailing list, please click here.
Anticipated Project Schedule
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Draft EIS/EIR released for 45-day public comment period |
Spring 2011 |
Final EIS/EIR released |
Fall 2011 |
EIR Certification and Record of Decision |
Spring 2012 |
Issuance of regulatory approvals and permits |
Spring 2012 |
Construction to begin |
Summer 2012 |
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Delta diversion plan takes a hit when judge sides with farmers
mweiser@sacbee.com
Published Tuesday, Apr. 12, 2011
State workers can't set foot on Delta farms to start designing a controversial canal or tunnel to divert water south, a Stockton judge has ruled.
It's the latest obstacle to the state's grand plan to build a canal or tunnel around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. It's also a major victory for opponents, who view the project as a modern-day water grab, said Thomas Keeling, the Stockton attorney representing dozens of property owners in the case.
"Many of them are so opposed to the (diversion) system, which they see as Owens Valley writ large," said Keeling, recalling the epic diversion by Los Angeles of the Owens River and Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierra. "We think the court got this one right."
San Joaquin Superior Court Judge John P. Farrell ruled Friday that the access sought by the state Department of Water Resources amounted to a "taking" of land without adequate compensation or protections, Keeling said.
The state intends to enter private land and drill for soil samples, as deep as 200 feet, to find the best route for a canal or tunnel to divert a portion of the Sacramento River's flow out of the estuary and directly into state and federal Delta water diversion pumps near Tracy.
The proposal is the cornerstone of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, a project largely funded by Delta water users to obtain approval for a new canal or tunnel, as well as habitat restoration efforts.
The court decision is likely to cause substantial delays in planning the canal project.
Ted Thomas, a DWR spokesman, said the state may appeal the ruling. In the meantime, though, it will work with property owners for access through eminent domain.
"We will negotiate with the landowners in an attempt to purchase the necessary easements for the drilling," he said.
Keeling said the state previously offered property owners no compensation for drilling access, only a process to seek compensation for damages. The state did not seek access through eminent domain, which provides a host of legal assurances to the property owner, but rather through a weaker set of land-entry statutes that amount to a kind of "authorized trespass," Keeling said.
The judge found this process was not designed for the kind of extensive access requested by DWR.
The proposed work called for as much as three weeks of activity involving drilling rigs, heavy trucks, forklifts and other equipment; construction of a drilling pad 100 feet square; the taking of soil samples; and resealing bore holes with a special sealant mixture.
DWR went to court after 150 property owners in five counties, including Sacramento County, objected to the work. The agency later reduced its request to about 30 properties.
Those landowners, Keeling said, "were all offended by the arrogance and high-handedness of DWR."
In a separate February 2011 ruling concerning property access for environmental and archaeological surveys, the judge reduced state access to Delta properties but didn't go as far as property owners wanted.
The state wanted 60 days of access over two years for a broad range of environmental studies. The judge limited those activities and cut the access to 25 to 30 days over one year. The property owners are appealing that decision.
The surveys were ordered during the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of DWR's authority under the State Water Project. This is the state entity that operates Oroville Reservoir, the California Aqueduct and associated plumbing for contractors who buy water from the state.
Those contractors, along with a separate group of federal water buyers, are funding the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. They see a new canal or tunnel – which could cost $12 billion or more – as vital to continue diverting Delta water without killing endangered fish, including salmon and Delta smelt.
The plan has been in a kind of limbo during the opening months of Gov. Jerry Brown's administration. Officials have been negotiating behind the scenes on a new direction.
Before, the effort was led by a relatively limited steering committee of mostly water users, with a token few members from environmental groups and one person representing local Delta interests.
Within a week, the state Natural Resources Agency, under its new director, John Laird, is expected to announce a new process that will involve a larger, more collaborative leadership group, said Richard Stapler, a spokesman for the agency.
To kick off the process, Laird and Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes plan to headline a public forum on the conservation plan, tentatively set for April 25.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved
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Water transfer meeting in Chico heats up
By JEN SIINO - Staff Writer
Posted: 01/12/2011 01:07:43 AM PST
CHICO -- More than 200 people crowded into a room prepared for 50 to voice opinions about water transfers at the Chico Masonic Family Center Tuesday evening.
The event was the first of three scoping meetings to be held by the Bureau of Reclamation and the San Luis & Delta Mendota Water Authority regarding the Long-Term North to South Water Transfer program. Other events are scheduled today in Sacramento and Thursday in Los Banos. The meeting aimed to gain comments on what should be included in a joint environmental impact statement/environmental impact report.
The meeting included a PowerPoint presentation and was supposed to be followed by an "open house" where citizens could approach designated areas about specific topics, such as transfer types and resources. However, not long into the initial presentation by Brad Hubbard, project manager for the Bureau of Reclamation, audience members started asking questions.
Though the questions were supposed to be taken after the presentation, the audience insisted on being heard. One man even made a formal motion to change the format, saying they didn't want to do an open house and would rather hear each others' questions and have them answered. The idea was met with a resounding "aye" from the audience members in favor.
Audience members requested their questions be answered directly, and Frances Mizuno, assistant executive director for San Luis & Delta Mendota Water Authority, jumped into the hot seat.
Mizuno tried to answer questions, but often came up short on specifics. She responded to more than one question by saying she didn't know the answer at that time.
For the remainder of the evening, citizens took two-minute turns at the microphone, sharing concerns and posing questions.
Common concerns were conservation and misuse of water and where it would be going. One main issue dealt with water not going to Southern California and another with who would take responsibility for possibly harmful environmental effects.
These general concerns seemed to be shared by the majority of the diverse crowd, comprised of everyone from a homeless man, to farmers, to local politicians.
"There are a lot of liberals here and a lot of conservatives here, but on this we are united," said John Janinis, a Chico resident of 50 years. "You will see these people come together like you've never seen before."
Janinis and other speakers commented that water doesn't belong to any group of people and its rights shouldn't be bought or sold, he said.
Others expressed concern the EIS/EIR is intended to be issued next year, which some felt is not enough time to do sufficient research.
Butte County resident Terry Faulkner spoke to the audience about fears of negative environmental impact. "Who's responsible for dealing with the damages?" Faulkner asked the audience and Bureau of Reclamation employees. Faulkner also expressed concern over things being handled effectively and mentioned she didn't want the process to "take years of lawsuits."
The meeting's tone, at times, became humorous, too. Local politician Mark Herrera got the crowd laughing by saying he thought the community wasn't interested — adding that the Bureau of Reclamation representatives could still stick around. Herrera wasn't the only local politician to make an appearance. Former Chico City Council member Tom Nickell was also in attendance.
Early in the meeting, Nickell said he was concerned about how the bureau intends to notify people about what is decided.
He also requested more meetings be held in areas such as Redding and Tehama County to make sure everyone's opinion is heard.
"I think that this interaction is really good," said Louis Moore, public affairs specialist for the mid-Pacific region of the Bureau of Reclamation.
"There was a little bit of angst in the audience, but the people came to grips with, 'wait, this is my chance to say something.'"
Moore added that the purpose of the scoping report was achieved and they got what he considered to be "a lot of passionate input."
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California Delta is a wonderful time machine
January 16th, 2011 3:34 pm PT
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State of California • Department of Transportation
NEWS RELEASE
Today’s Date: January 5, 2011
District: 4 - Oakland
Contact: Traci Ruth
Phone: 510-286-6120
The Real McCoy II Has Arrived!
Oakland– The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced today that the Real McCoy II ferry has arrived in the Bay Area. The $4.3 million Real McCoy II ferry will replace the existing sixty-five year old Real McCoy ferry on State Route 84 at Ryer Island near Rio Vista in Solano County.
The Real McCoy II will travel from Alameda to Rio Vista where Caltrans crews will receive training to pilot the new vessel and further equip the vessel for service. Training is expected to begin Monday, January 10, 2011.
In order to facilitate training, the current Real McCoy ferry service from Rio Vista to Ryer Island will be temporarily unavailable Monday, January 10 through Wednesday, January 12 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. Motorists are asked to use an alternate route during these hours.
Caltrans is planning to officially launch the vessel in early February.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District has posted Public Notice SPK-2000-00696 to http://www.spk.usace.army.mil/regulatory.html
The California Department of Water Resources has applied for a permit to place dredged or fill material and/or work in approximately 0.44 acres of waters of the United States to construct temporary agricultural water control barrier. This project is located on the San Joaquin River at the confluence of Old River, in Section 36, of Township 1 S, Range 6 E, San Joaquin County, California.
Written comments and/or a request for a paper copy of the notice may be submitted to project manager William Guthrie at our California Delta Branch 1325 J Street, Room 1480,
Sacramento, California 95814-2922, email William.H.Guthrie@usace.army.mil, or telephone 916-557-5269.
Comments must be received by January 13, 2011.
Eileen Imamura
Regulatory Tech, Regulatory Division
US Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District
1325 J Street, Room 1480
Sacramento, CA 95814-2922
916-557-5262 Fax: 916-557-6877
Eileen.R.Imamura@usace.army.mil
Let us know how we're doing. Please complete the survey at: http://per2.nwp.usace.army.mil/survey.html
Information on the Regulatory Program.
http://www.spk.usace.army.mil/organizations/cespk-co/regulatory/index.html
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Westlands Water District Pulls Out of BDCP Process
The Westlands Water District, in what it described as “political interferene,” announced on November 22 that it is withdrawing its support for the “continued development” of the controversial Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP).
The BDCP, a process opposed by many fishing groups, environmental organizations, Indian Tribes, family farmers and Delta residents, is a plan started four years ago by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to build a peripheral canal/tunnel to facilitate the export of California Delta water to corporate agribusiness and southern California.
In a letter to David Hayes, Deputy Secretary of the Interior, the district’s President, Jean P. Sagouspe, wrote, “As a public agency, Westlands cannot continue to spend millions of our ratepayers’ dollars on a project that is likely to deliver no more and potentially less water to the public than they are receiving today.”
Westlands’ withdrawal from the BDCP process was no surprise, considering that Thomas W. Birmingham, general manager of Westlands, reportedly walked out of a meeting in Washington D.C. on November 10 with Hayes and other federal and state officials and BDCP stakeholders. The walk out was prodded by a discussion that the plan may include reduced water exports to protect endangered fish species.
Westlands has filed numerous lawsuits to stop fishery restoration programs in recent years, ranging from its lawsuit in 2000 to block Trinity River restoration to its latest litigation attacking the federal biological opinions protecting imperiled Central Valley salmon, Sacramento River chinook salmon, green sturgeon, Delta smelt and the southern resident killer whale populations under the Endangered Species Act.
The Westlands Water District includes 600,000 acres of farmland on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley in Fresno and Kings counties. 73 miles long by 15 miles wide, the district stretches from Mendota in the north to Kettleman City in the south. Much of the land is laced with selenium and other salts and minerals that are toxic to fish and wildlife when agricultural waste water drains back into the San Joaquin River system.
“Westlands and the other public water agencies that rely upon water supplies pumped through the Delta have invested nearly $150 million and more than four years of effort to develop the BDCP program for fixing California’s broken water system,” according to a news release from Westlands. “BDCP was created to help resolve regulatory shortages through a balanced plan to meet California’s co-equal objectives of repairing the Delta environment and restoring reliable, adequate water supplies for California.”
“Through this action we are trying to get BDCP back on track,” said Birmingham.
Birmingham claimed that over the last three years, federal regulations have reduced California’s public water supplies by more than one-third. “But instead of working to solve the problems caused by these regulatory shortages, the Department of the Interior, at David Hayes’ direction, is now proposing to add even more regulatory restrictions, reducing even more drastically the deliveries that California’s farms and cities and two-thirds of the state’s residents depend on,” said Birmingham.
Birmingham said Sagouspe’s letter "expresses confidence that there are many dedicated employees" within Reclamation, the Fish & Wildlife Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service who could achieve a successful outcome of the BDCP process if they were not being subjected to “misinformed political interference.”
“Instead of working with the BDCP participants, Hayes is relying on the same special interests that have refused to join the BDCP process and have opposed its development from the beginning,” Birmingham claimed. “He apparently agrees with the idea that ‘success’ in the Delta can be measured on the basis of how much water is taken away from the people of California.”
“Such a destructive approach directly undermines the objective of fixing the water supply problem,” the Westlands letter concluded. “And without a project to fix the water supply problem, California won’t have the means to restore the Delta either. In short, it is our view that your myopic and unscientific obstructionism will bring this entire effort at water reform and ecosystem restoration to a halt.”
Sarah Woolf, spokesperson for Westlands, added that with Westlands gone from the BDCP process, "Our hope is that will elevate the need for the BDCP to come to some resolution on meeting everyone's needs in the process. The BDCP is a very fragile and very difficult process."
Bill Jennings, chairman/executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, said he suspected that Westland’s announcement of their withdrawal from the BDCP process was “a publicity stunt to focus their attacks on the administration just like they did when they launched their ‘New Dust Bowl’ campaign last year.”
“They joined the process with the assumption that that they could get more water out of it,” said Jennings. “Now that they aren’t getting what they want, they are threatening to withdraw funding. Their letter strikes me as political grandstanding and an attack of David Hayes and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to pressure them to back down over their concerns that the project as proposed could have disastrous consequences on the Delta.”
“Westlands is obviously groaning under the weight of the cost of the project,” added Jennings.. “The district is saying it will only play if they get more water. However, the best available science shows that the project would be a disaster for the Delta. To protect ESA listed species such as Central Valley salmon and Delta smelt, is is unlikely that water exports will be maintained at the current levels.”
The Planning and Conservation League also responded to Westlands’ withdrawl from the BDCP in a statement. “There is overwhelming scientific consensus that diversions from the Delta must be reduced in order for its ecosystem to be revived. Although Westlands does not like the broad scientific consensus, they are beginning to realize that diversions will be reduced, not increased,” the group stated.
The Department of Interior today issued a sharply worded response to Westlands letter.
“I believe the district’s decision is short-sighted and misguided,” said David Hayes. “From the statements in your letter, it is also based on characterizations of my role in the process that are contrary to the facts.”
“I will not address in detail in this response your characterization of my role, nor will I repeat them here,” added Hayes. “But I can state unequivocally that the Secretary’s and my intent, and that of our entire Department, is to develop and complete a successful plan that is consistent with the twin goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem restoration.”
“The Secretary and I firmly believe that the BDCP process continues to affort the best opportunity to resolve California’s water issues. We would prefer to pursue this course with Westlands’ participation,” he concluded.
The peripheral canal/tunnel proposed by the BDCP would cost an estimated $23 to $53.8 billion, according to a study conducted last year by Steven Kasower and Associates.
The $11.14 billion water bond, taken off this November’s ballot by the Legislature and rescheduled to November 2012 because of its impending defeat by the voters this year, would not specifically fund the canal/tunnel. However, it would put in place the infrastructure for the canal and new surface storage facilities.
Throughout 2009 and 2008, Astroturf groups led by the Latino Water Coalition and west side San Joaquin agribusiness interests claimed that court-imposed reductions in Delta water exports to protect Delta smelt had created a “New Dust Bowl.” Mother Jones magazine joined Sean Hannity, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and agribusiness “Astroturf” groups in perpetuating the “Big Lie” about the alleged “drought” and “New Dust Bowl (http://www.c-win.org/blog/dan-bacher-doubts-westside-san-joaquin-growers-feed-nation.html).
“Figures obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, show the Golden State’s agricultural earnings have reached historic highs during the so-called three-year drought,” noted Carter and Porgans. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture, (USDA), California’s cash receipts from crop and livestock sales, in billions of dollars, were follows: $34.841 billion in 2009, $38.407 billion in 2008 and $36.386 billon in 2007. How could there be “New Dust Bowl” with record agricultural earning in the Central Valley and other agricultural regions?
The BDCP “Complete Working Draft” is now posted online and available here:
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Viewpoints: Big Ag Cries Big Tears; Salmon Run Dries Up
By Larry Collins
Special to The Bee
Published: Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010 - 10:00 pm
I've been a California commercial fisherman for almost three decades. For most of that time, Chinook salmon constituted 70 percent or more of my business. Salmon gave me a prosperous living, and they supported the communities that I called home. They fed my family – and helped feed America. I'm proud to be a salmon fisherman, proud to be part of a venerable tradition based on a sustainable – and delicious – resource.
Then in the past few years, everything changed. California's 2008 and 2009 salmon seasons were closed following a catastrophic crash in the stocks. In the area where I fish, we were allowed eight days of fishing this year. Obviously, it's tough to make a living working one week a year.
For the first four days of this year's "season," weather kept our fleet on shore. In the remaining four days, I caught one salmon.
What caused this disaster? Lack of water. Diversions from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta south to corporate farms have deprived salmon of water they need in their spawning streams. Further, huge government-run Delta pumps that send taxpayer-subsidized water south destroy great numbers of young salmon trying to migrate downriver to the ocean.
The biological facts are bad enough. Even worse are the power plays of Big Agribusiness. Faced with modest restrictions on subsidized water deliveries to protect fish, Big Ag bleated like an old sheep, claiming economic ruin. Politicians rewarded their calculated hysteria, augmenting their supplies with "emergency" deliveries.
Foremost among the corporate crybabies is Westlands Water District, at 600,000 acres the country's largest irrigation district. Westlands is a junior water rights holder, meaning it's legally the last in line for water during drought. Only a few hundred corporate entities make up this agricultural empire – plus a battery of lawyers working to overcome their junior water right status.
From all the wailing, you'd have thought Westlands was in worse shape than the salmon fishing ports. But – surprise! Westlands not only had enough water for their crops – they had leftovers. In fact, they had a 2010 surplus of about 450,000 acre-feet, enough water to supply 1.8 million urbanites for one year. So, they decided to trade 150,000 acre-feet to the Metropolitan Water District and generate $30 million of benefit for themselves.
In other words, Westlands is receiving subsidized water at low rates, then peddling it to cities to generate a windfall. Meanwhile, salmon – a public resource – are going belly-up, fishermen are going bankrupt and the communities that depend on commercial fishing, recreational angling and seafood processing are hollowing out.
Wonder why west-side corporate farmers fight against reasonable water policy? While crying "wolf" over water, they continue to plant more orchard crops, which require plentiful irrigation. They then use these plantings to justify their demands for more water. But their real agenda isn't crop security: It's control over the water. They'd like to be middlemen in the transfer of subsidized water from the Delta to southland cities. They dream of the day when all they'll have to do is watch the water flow and listen to the "ka-ching" of the cash registers.
Salmon are resilient, but they can't live on sunlight alone. They need water, and we should give it to them. Salmon fishing is one of America's most regulated industries. Fishermen understand the necessity for resource protection – but we demand a level playing field. The regulations that apply to us must also apply to the westside's water buccaneers. It's a matter of law and fairness.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/11/06/3163701/viewpoints-big-ag-cries-big-tears.html#ixzz14cvnatBW
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The state's Little Hoover Commission on Thursday proposed a shake-up in how California manages its water, calling today's "confusing water governance" ineffective for both water efficiency and environmental protection.
The commission spent nearly 18 months probing various agencies and laws that govern California water. An independent oversight agency, its 13 members are appointed by the governor and Legislature.
Likely the thorniest of its three main recommendations is to divest the State Water Project from the Department of Water Resources. The project delivers water to 25 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland via reservoirs and canals.
The project is funded independently from fees paid by contractors who have an ongoing thirst for more water. Yet DWR also must plan the fair distribution of water and award grants for that purpose.
"You've got sort of a mission conflict, if you will, and I think it creates mistrust about the motives of the department," said Daniel Hancock, commission chairman.
The commission proposes a new California Water Authority to manage the State Water Project like an independent utility. Its members would represent both water users and those with a stake in the environment, and would be appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate.
The authority would also insulate the water project from state budget problems that threaten to drain engineering and maintenance talent essential to operating a complicated water system, Hancock said.
Laura King-Moon, assistant general manager of the State Water Contractors, supports the concept but wants "a close look" at how the authority board would be composed.
"It sounds like this is moving in a positive direction, and definitely opening up a discussion we need to have," she said.
DWR spokesman Matt Notley had no comment because the department is still reviewing the report.
The commission also proposes to combine water rights oversight functions, which now reside among several state agencies, into a new Department of Water Management. The current fragmented approach makes it difficult to know who is abusing water supplies and then take action.
Finally, the existing California Water Commission should assume oversight of grant-funded water projects, to ensure that spending serves the state's long-term water needs.
The commission has no authority to carry out the proposals. Action by the Legislature and governor would be required.
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Check out the salaries of the water resource control board: CLICK HERE |
Water Supply Outlook 2010
California Nevada River Forecast Center -
NOAA -
National Weather Service
Sacramento, California |
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Stop
the Canal Friends,
In case you missed it, Saturday, December 8th's front
page article in the Contra Costa Times entitled "Secret
Study Shows Canal Back in Play" disclosed
an ongoing plan by Southern California water interests
and the Department of Water Resources to begin the
planning process for a new canal.
In short, these outside water interests are in the
process now of calculating the dollar costs for building
a new canal or Delta bypass for inclusion in a Sacramento
water bond that will go to the voters sometime in 2008.
This strategy is moving fast and continues behind the
scenes between special interests that want to
see more of our quality water moving south faster and
more efficiently.
I am writing for your help. We need our local city
leaders to take a formal position IN
OPPOSITION TO THE BUILDING OF A NEW CANAL.
Please contact your Mayor and City
Co uncilmembers as soon as possible to ask them to
support a resolution in opposition to ANY MOVEMENT
to build a new canal which will send our good water
South and have a devastating effect on our Delta ecosystem.
Thank you, again, for your continued commitment to
Stop the Canal!
Regards, Joe Canciamilla
www.StoptheCanal.org
Joe@StoptheCanal.org |
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