Press release from Friends of the River:
Today, Friends of the River (FOR) alongside an unique and unparalleled coalition of Tribes, nonprofits, and local governments that together represent a broad array of public interests, pushed back against the State Water Resources Control Board’s (State Water Board) rushed and unreasonable schedule for permitting the proposed Delta Tunnel. Under the Board’s current proposal, the Tunnel water rights proceedings will begin on January 16th, 2025, with parties to submit testimony by December 4, 2024.
The Delta Tunnel is a water export project that would take about a third of the average Sacramento River flow at the point of diversion (up to 6,000 cubic feet of water per second) near Hood, CA, and send it south to be pumped to San Joaquin Valley agribusiness and southern California cities. Taking more water will further devastate the crashing Bay-Delta ecosystem.
FOR and other parties argue that the proposed schedule is highly inappropriate because:
- It overlaps with other major water processes in California occurring in the near future – this includes the Sites Reservoir project, as well as environmental permitting of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, whose outcomes have huge implications for the future of the state’s rivers and water supply. Each process requires massive investment of time in review, analysis, and preparation of expert testimony.
- It is discriminatory to tribes and environmental justice communities – the rushed timeline jeopardizes their ability to participate and thus violates the State Water Board’s 2021 Policy on Racial Equity (read).
- It puts the cart before the horse and is prejudicial to process – other pending major water processes will make decisions that create the regulatory landscape and determine feasibility of the Tunnel, especially the update of the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan, and the ESA requirements for operation of the state and federal water projects, and others. These processes must be complete before advancing the Tunnel water rights.
- Funding isn’t lined up – the public would bear a high expense to participate in this process, even though the $20 billion proposed Tunnel may never be economically viable.
During today’s meeting the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), which would be the sole owner of the Tunnel, and some water districts that would benefit from the project, were the only voices supporting the proposed schedule.
Gary Bobker, FOR Senior Policy Director, said, “There is no reason to fast-track the Tunnel project before the State Water Board has set the stage by updating the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan. It will govern how much water is actually available after environmental needs are fully met, and fish and wildlife agencies have determined what the federal and state water projects must do to prevent extinction and promote recovery of listed endangered species. These decisions will constrain the Tunnel water rights, and could even moot the project entirely. Given these pending processes, and the fact that the Tunnel won’t be operational for 20+ years, there is no reason to rush through this essential public process today.”
Parties expect to hear back from the State Water Board, about the scheduling decision later this month.
Earlier this year, Friends of the River and allies submitted a formal protest of the Tunnel water rights petition identifying the many ways that the project will harm California’s environment, wildlife, and recreation industry. One major issue highlighted in the protest is that: “If built, the Tunnel will remove the bottleneck that currently limits water exports – operational and ecological constraints in the Delta – and thus will remove a major barrier to new dams and diversions. Previously uneconomic or otherwise infeasible [dam] projects will become more attractive because they may pencil out with increased delta export capacity.”
To learn more about the long-term harms that the Delta Tunnel project will bring to California, view FOR’s Protest Summary HERE. Read the full protest HERE.
For more than a half-century, Friends of the River (FOR) has been dedicated to protecting and restoring California’s rivers, streams, and watersheds, while advocating for sustainable water solutions that protect communities and the environment. FOR rejects the notion that the state must choose between healthy river ecosystems and having enough water. FOR is in its toughest fight yet as it works to stop the “Triple Threat” – the Sites Reservoir boondoggle, Delta Tunnel, and Voluntary Agreements.
For more information on Friends of the River, visit https://www.friendsoftheriver.org.
