This coming weekend, August 16th, a mass flotilla, The Million Boat Float, will leave Antioch and follow the Sacramento River to the State Capitol to show legislators how many passionate people are united to protect the Delta's waterways.

The flotilla will leave Antioch at 9 a.m. and meet in Sacramento at 7 p.m. Sunday evening for a riverfront rally.

Monday the 17th at 11 a.m., Delta supporters will hold a rally on the West Steps of the Capitol to let legislators and the governor hear their opposition to the peripheral canal, as well as to the Delta fishing and recreation communities being left out of the creation of new governance processes for the Delta.

For more information including schedules and boat staging areas, go to: www.millionboatfloat.org or contact Million Boat Float Coordinator Bruce Connelley at [email protected] or 925-625-7467. People near Sacramento can call 916-761-4726 or go to www.organicsacramento.org or www.northdeltacares.org.

Restore the Delta will be holding a community meeting on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and the Governor's plans for construction of the peripheral canal on August 11, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. This meeting is only open to Restore the Delta supporters and community friends. It will be held at the Best Western in Lathrop. The Best Western is at I-5 and Old Harlan Road.

The Legislature has finally released a package of Delta bills, and we have until Tuesday, August 18 to look them over and get ready for a legislative hearing.

Here's what is in the package: ? A bill by Senator Simitian to set up a Delta Stewardship Council consisting of seven members- four appointed by the Governor and one each by the Senate and the Assembly, with the seventh being the chairperson of the Delta Protection Commission. That's just one member representing the Delta.

? A bill by Assemblyman Huffman to direct the Delta Stewardship Council in developing a Delta Plan. The Delta Plan involves the standard coequal goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem protection, with concerns for Delta communities and values taking a backseat. And of course, once water delivery is set as a co-equal goal to environmental protections, environmental protection would become secondary - which is contrary to existing Federal and State laws. The bill also includes a section on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, and sets the stage for the Stewardship Council to implement the BDCP in order to authorize the peripheral canal.

Moreover, these two bills by Senator Simitian and Assembly Member Huffman, which are even numbered in way to show that they are two interlocking pieces of a puzzle, appear to authorize a peripheral canal without any requirement to go back to the Legislature for approval. Thus, despite Assembly Member Huffman's press release last week in which he claims not to be advancing the peripheral canal, it looks like he is allowing a peripheral canal by connecting his bill with Senator Simitian's and giving up the Legislature's authority to allow or disallow a canal.

Other parts of this water package include: a bill by Assembly members Feuer and Huffman dealing with water efficiency; a bill by Senator Pavley on Delta interim actions, water rights, and groundwater; Senator Wolk's bill on a Delta Conservancy and issues regarding the Delta Protection Commission.

There is good faith material in this total water package, and there is bad faith material that capitulates to the Governor and State Water Contractors with their BDCP water grab masquerading as a Habitat Conservation Plan. Restore the Delta will provide additional analysis daily between now and August 18th.

The hearing on these bills is scheduled for 9 a.m. on August 18 in Room 4202 of the State Capitol. While we still do not know what type of public input will be allowed, we strongly urge Restore the Delta supporters to be physically present at this hearing.

Last week a varied group of Delta interests told the Department of Water Resources that they weren't interested in helping to develop a flood management plan for the Central Valley if they were being asked to plan around an "alternative conveyance."

Legislation passed in 2007 directs DWR to develop documents that will guide integrated flood management for the Central Valley. The core document is the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan (CVFPP), and the first step in producing that document is a Regional Conditions Summary Report. Summaries are being written by work groups in the Upper and Lower Sacramento regions, the Upper and Lower San Joaquin regions, and the Delta.

At the first meeting of the Delta Work Group in Rio Vista on August 4, consultants in charge of the process abandoned their agenda early in the day as participants argued against considering a peripheral canal as a potential regional condition. Not only would a canal through the Delta change everything in terms of hydrology affecting flood conditions, but the Bay Delta Conservation Plan has still not provided a firm plan for the canal it wants to build.

In fact, rather than a flood control plan taking the BDCP into consideration, the BDCP should not proceed until there is a flood control plan clarifying the regional situation in the Delta.

Consultants and DWR representatives agreed to take the issue to DWR Director Lester Snow and report back at the next meeting, scheduled for August 27. At that time, participants will find out whether this flood protection planning process can proceed without a bias favoring water exports. If it can, the process will be radically different from other state-sponsored planning efforts that have preceded it.

RTD advocates ensuring emergency readiness to protect the people, property, and infrastructure of the Delta and to provide for a healthy ecosystem. Its campaign platform calls on the State to consult with Delta experts to prepare and fully fund a comprehensive flood plan and emergency readiness plan.

Special thanks to Jane Wagner-Tyack for all her work on this issue of Delta Flows.

Restore the Delta is a charitable 501(c)3 organization. Donations are tax deductible.

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