DTEC urges the State Water Board and the Governor to take EPA findings into account in completing Bay Delta Plan and responding to Trump actions
Press release from Restore the Delta:
On January 10, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the following letter to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) in regards to two petitions filed with the EPA by the Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition (DTEC) in December 2022. DTEC includes the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Little Manila Rising and Restore the Delta.
The first petition was a Title VI civil rights complaint accepted by the EPA for investigation, asserting discriminatory practices and disparate impacts against California Tribes and communities of color in the Delta region by the State Water Board. The second petition, which EPA did not officially take action on, pertained to Clean Water Act violations due to the State Water Board’s failure to complete the Bay-Delta Plan as consistent with the law.
As one of the final acts under the Biden Administration, the EPA submitted a letter to the State Water Board outlining an overall summary of their findings. This summary cites DTEC’s Title VI complaint and highlights:
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The injury to Tribes from loss of fish and other riparian resources and proliferation of harmful algal blooms.
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The EPAs strong support for adoption of Tribal Beneficial Uses as a water quantity and quality monitoring standard.
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Recognition that current objectives are impairing tribal beneficial uses and that strong objectives are required for tribal protections.
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Support for regulatory standards and recognition of the damage to Bay-Delta communities from the delay in adopting regulatory controls.
Regardless of the status of EPA programs going forward, this letter is now part of the official record before the State Water Resources Control Board. DTEC urges the State Water Board and the Governor to take these findings into account and to act on them in a supportive manner in response to Trump’s Executive Orders regarding management of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta by completing the Bay-Delta Plan expeditiously now. Voluntary agreements for water management should be separate, incorporate impacted parties including tribal and community interests, and should happen after a successful completion of the Bay-Delta Plan.
Facts are facts. Science is science. And the harm done to tribes and Delta communities from years of delay in setting proper water quality standards is well documented. Despite changes at the federal level, nothing changes these truths. The question is whether the State Water Resources Control Board will serve all water interests equally under the law going forward.
