A memo from Dr. David Sunding to Carrie Buckman, Environmental Program Manager, Delta Conveyance Office, Department of Water Resources, regarding the economic analysis for the Delta Conveyance Project:
Dr. Jeff Michael recently released a critique of the 2024 Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) of the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP). Dr. Michael is a longtime critic of the project, and his work has been supported by various Delta farming and environmental interests.
In his latest report, Dr. Michael raises a number of objections to the BCA. As detailed in this memo, Dr. Michael’s criticisms reveal some significant misunderstandings about the role of the BCA, the framework of the analysis, the treatment of risk in the BCA, the choice of economic parameters like the discount rate, and other important aspects of the BCA.
The economic analysis we conducted is based on industry standards and follows industry best practices. It is informed by current, applicable and documented data and policies. It carefully avoids speculation and is purposefully conservative in nature. This memo is meant to help decision-makers better understand our approach by correcting Dr. Michael’s errors.
Read the full memo …
DCP_Sundng_Response_BCA Critique
