Press release from Restore the Delta:
A coalition of Tribes and environmental advocates have filed a formal appeal challenging the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Certification of Consistency for the proposed Delta Conveyance Project (DCP), arguing the project violates state law and poses an imminent threat to Delta communities, its ecosystem and cultural heritage.
The coalition, consisting of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, San Francisco Baykeeper, Center for Biological Diversity, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Little Manila Rising, Friends of the River, California Indian Environmental Alliance, Sierra Club California and Restore the Delta, are urging the Delta Stewardship Council to overturn the certification citing inconsistencies with the Delta Reform Act and Delta Plan. The group’s key concerns in the appeal include that the project would:
- Irreparably harm Tribal Cultural Resources including cultural sites, burial grounds and traditional use areas – highlighting the lack of any meaningful Tribal consultation
- Intensify environmental harm by increasing diversions from the Delta, reducing protective water flows for threatened fish species and increasing harmful algal blooms
- Worsen environmental injustices, placing disproportionate burdens on Delta residents including low-income, Tribal and Latino communities
- Increase water reliance on the Delta, directly contradicting Delta Plan requirements, and weakening water flow protections
“DWR takes every chance it gets to legitimize its ill-advised Delta Tunnel, so it should come as no surprise that it has flouted important environmental reviews by certifying its own project as compliant with the Delta Plan despite the contrary reality,” said Christie Ralston, Associate Attorney for San Francisco Baykeeper. “The Tunnel’s true impacts contradict DWR’s consistency determination. Instead of spending tens of billions of ratepayer and taxpayer dollars on a concrete pipe that will destroy ecosystems, fisheries, Delta economies, and communities, Californians need effective and restorative solutions that prioritize local sources of water, strengthening levees, and improving existing State Water Project infrastructure.”
“Environmental and tribal partners spent years collaborating with the Delta Stewardship Council on a report for how they would engage with environmental justice communities and Tribes,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta. “It seems that they have walked away from the Council’s commitment to following their own internal processes as delineated in this report. Environmental justice and tribal collaboration seems to be for show and not for meaningful consideration by the Council.”
The coalition is calling on the Delta Stewardship Council to reject DWR’s determination and require the state to follow the law and to uphold their commitment to protecting the already fragile Delta ecosystem, tribal rights and delta communities.
