Press release from Restore the Delta;
Today, a coalition of Tribes and environmental advocates hosted a virtual press conference urging the Delta Stewardship Council to reject the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Certification of Consistency for the proposed Delta Conveyance Project, warning that approval would signal a retreat from the Council’s promise to ensure that environmental justice and Tribal consultation are not merely procedural formalities, but central to its decision making. The press conference comes ahead of the Council’s February 26-27 hearings to consider whether the controversial Delta Tunnel project complies with the state’s Delta Plan.
The coalition includes 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.
The coalition filed a formal appeal challenging the DWR’s Certification of Consistency, asserting that the project violates state law and poses an imminent threat to Delta communities, its ecosystem and cultural heritage. In the appeal, the coalition highlights several key concerns, noting that the Tunnel project would:
- Irreparably harm Tribal Cultural Resources including cultural sites, burial grounds and traditional use areas, while lacking 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
Advocates emphasized that DWR’s self-certification of consistency disregards critical environmental review findings and contradicts the project’s true impacts. The coalition contended that instead of spending tens of billions of dollars on a massive tunnel that would damage ecosystems, California should invest in restorative water solutions including prioritizing local water supplies, strengthening Delta levees, and modernizing existing State Water Project infrastructure.
STATEMENTS FROM COALITION MEMBERS:
Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair, Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians:
“The Delta Plan recognizes the need to protect and support our treasured estuary, and the people whose lives, cultures, and traditions depend on it. My tribe’s ancestral territory includes the greater Delta and as the First Peoples of the region, we feel an inherent responsibility to protect the Delta’s eco-cultural well-being, not just for our people but for all people. Our guardianship responsibility, as well as the Delta Stewardship Council’s, extends beyond us and includes the plant, fish, and animal relatives that rely on these already imperiled waterways to survive. The DCP would take more water out of the Delta in times when the Delta and all the living things connected to it need water the most. The Delta Conveyance Project is fundamentally inconsistent with the Delta Plan and we hope the DSC will uphold its duty to protect it.”
Michelle Rivera, Program Coordinator, California Indian Environmental Alliance:
“The California Indian Environmental Alliance has worked towards implementing Tribal Beneficial Uses for subsistence fishing, cultural uses and water quality – this would translate to the health of plants, aquatic animals, and Tribal members. The Delta Tunnels block any ability to make progress in water quality to support tribal beneficial uses and this project will degrade the water, it will impair habitats and kill off the plant life that lies in the project area. We strongly oppose the construction of the Delta Tunnel and instead support investing in existing systems to upgrade them.”
Gloria Alonso, Environmental Justice Advocacy Coordinator, Little Manila Rising:
“In our urban Delta communities, generations of youth are growing up watching the degradation of our closest waterways—waters their elders once swam in on hot summer days. We ask ourselves, how is this possible? We are witnessing the public processes that, instead of protecting us, can enable this chronic environmental degradation, all while our communities are on the frontlines of climate change. The Delta Conveyance Project is inconsistent with the Delta Plan objectives and policies that seek to protect us. The Delta Stewardship Council has the power to reject this project and safeguard the future of the Delta ecosystem for generations to come.”
Morgen Snyder, Director of Policy and Programs, Restore the Delta:
“The proposed Delta Conveyance Project is far from consistent with the Delta Plan, which calls for protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Bay-Delta. Instead of reducing reliance on the Delta, the Tunnel would increase reliance on Delta exports, diverting much needed funds from investments in local water supply solutions. The Tunnel would also devastate the Delta as a place – removing prime farmland from operation, disrupting the fishing, recreation and tourism economies central to the Delta, and expediting the decline of an already imperiled ecosystem. Delta ecosystems, and the tribes and communities that depend upon them, deserve an opportunity to heal and thrive, but that future is incompatible with the Delta Conveyance Project.”
