From Restore the Delta:
Two new developments this week expose major flaws in the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) rush to advance the controversial Delta Conveyance Project (“Delta Tunnel”) despite repeated warnings from regulators and the courts that its process is incomplete and inconsistent with state law.
In an October 10 letter, the State Water Resources Control Board’s Administrative Hearing Officer directed DWR to redo and supplement its climate and regulatory modeling for the Delta Conveyance Project, finding the agency’s submissions “inadequate to inform the State Water Board’s decision” on whether the project complies with the Delta Reform Act and protects fish, wildlife, and water quality. DWR must now provide new modeling that incorporates current regulatory requirements and a reasonable range of future climate scenarios before rebuttal testimony begins.
Just days later, San Francisco Baykeeper and Restore the Delta sent a letter questioning how DWR could simultaneously file for a consistency determination with the Delta Stewardship Council — essentially claiming the project meets all Delta Plan requirements — while still lacking key scientific and technical information required under state law. The groups point out that DWR itself previously told a court that such geotechnical work was necessary before making a consistency finding, and that the court prohibited DWR from conducting the drilling and trenching it said it needed. That case remains under appeal.
“When the courts told DWR that its plan to move forward with extensive drilling, boring, and trenching in the Delta related to the Tunnel was unlawful, DWR insisted that it needed to do that work in order to determine whether the Tunnel was consistent with the Delta Plan,” said Eric Buescher, Managing Attorney for San Francisco Baykeeper. “But earlier this month, despite not having done that work, DWR went ahead and claimed consistency. DWR has not explained to the public, the Stewardship Council, or the courts why it changed its position, and it appears that DWR continues to march to the beat of its own drum, regardless of the facts, its prior statements to the courts, or the requirements of the Delta Reform Act.”
“After years of public outcry, court challenges, and state hearings, DWR still cannot provide a complete or transparent record for this project,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta. “The agency’s refusal to follow its own stated process—while pushing forward a consistency claim based on missing data—undermines public trust and violates the spirit of California’s water protection laws. The people of the Delta deserve a fair, science-based review, not a predetermined outcome.”Together, the two letters reveal a troubling pattern of procedural shortcuts and contradictory claims by DWR as it seeks to move the multi-billion-dollar tunnel project toward approval. Both the Hearing Officer’s directive and the groups’ letter underscore that the Delta Conveyance Project remains far from ready for a legitimate consistency determination, much less any final state approval.
