By Dan Bacher
26 May 12-26 , 2017 VOL . 36 • ISS . 11
By Dan Bacher
Jerry Brown Meets With Interior Secretary About Delta Tunnels
Two groups , Restore the Delta
( RTD ) and the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water ( EJCW ), in April sent a joint letter opposing the Delta Stewardship Council ’ s proposed amendments to the Delta Plan that marginalize environmental environmental justice communities and Tribes . The amendments regarding surface storage , conveyance ( the Delta Tunnels ) and performance measures “ lack a true needs assessment for CA WaterFix , a water supply analysis , a cost-benefits analysis , and fails to consider environmental justice , anti-discrimination , and human right to water issues in their planning and scientific documents within the Delta Plan ,” according to the groups .
The letter was sent at time a time when Governor Jerry Brown continues to push for the construction of the two massive twin tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta , the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas , to export water to agribusiness interests on the west side of
After meeting with California Governor Jerry Brown on
April 13 , U . S . Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke issued a statement saying he “ appreciated the positive and productive conversation ” with Brown .
The Trump administration official said he and the governor discussed “ public lands , water infrastructure and projects throughout California ” that are managed by the Department of Interior .
One of the topics they talked about was Governor Brown ’ s controversial plan to build the Delta Tunnels . Zinke has not yet taken a formal position on the California WaterFix project , but you can bet that Brown was doing everything he could to convince him to officially support it .
Secretary Zinke noted that the Bureau of Reclamation spends more than a third of its budget in the state and “ close coordination is essential to ensure reliable water supplies to communities , farmers , and businesses .”
“ I shared my intent to work with the Governor to help prevent and reduce risks that wildland fires can pose to homeowners , watersheds , and businesses in California communities . This includes strong management of federal land holdings . We also discussed ensuring a first-rate experience for the more than 40 million visitors expected to visit national parks in the state this year ,” said Zinke .
“ With more than 23 million acres of federally managed land in the state and Bureau of Reclamation projects that supply water and electricity to cities , farmers , and businesses , it is clear that we will be talking often ,” said Zinke .
Neither Zinke or Brown ’ s Office indicated whether the Governor or Interior Secretary had initiated the meeting .
“ Governor Brown and Secretary Zinke had a very cordial conversation today and there was a real recognition that California and the federal government are deeply interconnected when it comes to land and water management ,” said Evan Westrup , Brown ’ s press secretary , in an email to the LA Times .
Delta and public trust advocates fear that Brown will try to make a deal with Zinke and other Trump administration officials to expedite the construction of the tunnels . As soon as the November election results came in , I predicted that Brown would try to
the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California water agencies .
Randy Reck , EJCW Staff Attorney , said , “ The proposed Delta Plan amendments are the latest iteration of a Delta planning process that continues to marginalize the very environmental justice and Tribal communities who bear a disproportionate burden — both environmental and financial — of over-reliance on the Delta . EJCW formed eighteen years ago in response to similar exclusionary tactics employed in the CALFED process .”
“ While significant advances have been made in state policy on environmental justice since then , including the Human Right to Water policy , Delta communities continue to be overlooked by a process that doesn ’ t even pretend to include them . EJCW calls on the DSC to abide by existing environmental justice policies and the values that underlie them , including transparency , collaboration , equity , and opportunity ,” he noted .
The letter points out that the terms make a deal with the Trump administration to build the Delta Tunnels .
The Delta Tunnels project has come under increasing fire from scientists , economists and public trust advocates over the past few years . In December , Brown told the Sacramento Bee that the California WaterFix , the plan to divert Sacramento River water to agribusiness and Southern California water agencies through two 35-mile long tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta , is based on “ the best scientific thinking .”
Federal scientists strongly disagree with Brown ’ s claim that “ best scientific thinking ” supports the construction of the tunnels . In fact , the National Marine Fisheries Service ( NMFS ) has released a draft biological opinion documenting the harm the tunnels would cause to Sacramento River Chinook salmon , Central Valley steelhead , Delta and longfin smelt , other fish and wildlife species , and water quality .
An independent peer review panel found the NMFS findings are backed by “ comprehensive analyses , new data , and modeling .” The panel further found NMFS used the “ best available
“ environmental justice ,” “ human right to water , and “ anti-discrimination ” cannot be found in the reviewed Delta Stewardship Council documents :
“ State of California environmental justice , human right to water , and anti-discrimination policy requirements apply to planning activities and decisions by all state agencies . We searched planning and scientific documents prepared by the Delta Stewardship Council ( DSC ) concerning Delta Plan amendments ( DPAs ) for performance measures andconveyance , storage and operations . We used the terms 1 ‘ environmental justice ,’ ‘ human right to water ,’ and various permutations of ‘ anti-discrimination .” None of these terms are found in the DSC planning and scientific documents reviewed for this letter .”
The groups said the language of these documents becomes even “ more problematic ” via the use of the word “ promote ” in reference to the California WaterFix .
“ The Council puts the cart before science ” and produced evidence of “ significant adverse impacts ” to species and critical habitat , including unacceptable harm to salmon .
The draft biological opinion is available at http :// www . westcoast . fisheries . noaa . gov / central _ valley / WaterFix / WaterFixPeerReview2BMaterials . html
After meeting with Brown , Secretary Zinke met with employees at Yosemite National Park on Thursday . On the following day , Zinke kicked off National Park Week early at Sequoia National Park — America ’ s second national park - “ known for its sky-scraping giant redwood trees , “ according to a U . S . Department of Interior ( DOI ) news release .
The U . S . Senate on March 1 , 2017 confirmed then U . S . Representative Ryan Zinke ( R-MT ) as the nation ’ s 52nd Secretary of the Interior by a 68-31 vote . Zinke came to Congress in January 2014 after a 23-year career with the U . S . Navy .
In 2008 , he was elected as a state senator , where he led the chamber ’ s Education and Cultural Resources Committee . During his tenure in Congress he served as a member of the House Natural Resources Committee .
Delta Plan Amendments Marginalize Environmental Justice and Tribal Communities
the horse with its proposed Delta Plan language promoting the Delta Tunnels project ,” said Restore the Delta ’ s Policy Analyst , Tim Stroshane . “ They will become both promoter and regulator of the Tunnels and other dam projects if they approve this amendment . It is farcical .”
“ The Delta Plan Amendments , as proposed by the Delta Stewardship Council , ignore large portions of the Delta Reform Act that deal with Delta stewardship and promote the construction of the Delta Tunnels ,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla , Executive Director of Restore the Delta . “ In addition , these revised amendments and the Delta Plan in its entirety fail to identify and evaluate the impacts of new conveyance on the Delta environmental justice community . The Council , unfortunately , is continuing to push through boondoggle tunnels that will benefit special interest water districts at the expense of the Delta -- the ecosystem and communities that they are to protect , restore and enhance .”