Press release from the Delta Protection Commission
The Delta Protection Commission voted today to appeal the Department of Water Resources’s certification that the Delta Conveyance Project is consistent with the Delta Plan.
The Project would create a 45-mile tunnel starting on the Sacramento River at the town of Hood and ending at the Bethany Reservoir west of Tracy, near the community of Mountain House in the South Delta.
The Commission’s appeal contends that the Project would do lasting harm to the Delta, irrevocably altering “the rural character of the Delta, its economic pillars (agriculture and recreation), and its cultural heritage.”
It also contends that other options that don’t harm the Delta have not been adequately considered.
The project would use thousands of acres of agricultural land during construction and leave another 1,000 permanently changed, often with industrial-looking facilities, at the four major impact areas: Hood, Twin Cities Road near I-5, Lower Roberts Island, and near the Bethany Reservoir State Recreation Area. Other permanent facilities would be built in the Delta on the tunnel route.
The Delta Reform Act of 2009 establishes coequal goals for the Delta of providing a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta ecosystem. It also states that the coequal goals “shall be achieved in a manner that protects and enhances the unique cultural, recreational, natural resource and agricultural values of the Delta as an evolving place.”
Commissioner Patrick Hume, a Sacramento County Supervisor, said at a preliminary Commission discussion of the matter on Nov. 3: “This body is the the last bastion of support for the Delta as a place. This is really the voice for the flora, the fauna, the farmers, the Flyway, the fisheries, and the economy that the Delta represents.”
The Commission’s vote to appeal on Monday was 9-0, with one abstention.
The Commission is made predominantly of elected representatives in the Delta, with 11 of its 15 members coming from county boards of supervisors, city councils, and local reclamation districts, which are responsible for flood control in the Delta’s low-lying farmland and small communities.
The remaining four members represent state agencies, and they have typically abstained on votes regarding the Delta Conveyance Project.
Commission Chair Diane Burgis, a Contra Costa County Supervisor, did not attend the meeting today and has recused herself from past discussions and votes regarding the Project. Burgis serves on the Delta Stewardship Council, which will hear the Commission’s appeal and any other appeals filed by today’s deadline.
If the Council upholds any of the appeals, the Project could be remanded to DWR to address Delta Plan inconsistencies.
The Commission’s appeal, including maps showing impact areas, can be seen here (PDF).
