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April 19, 2010
"I am against government by
crony."
--Harold L. Ickes, on
resigning as secretary of the interior, February 1946
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Delta Stewardship
Council launched on April Fools Day
by Karen Medders
April 1st was more than just April Fools' Day; it
was also the seating of the Delta Stewardship Council, which happened to
coincide with the West Coast Salmon Summit hosted by Congressmen George Miller
and Mike Thompson. RTD had called
supporters out to attend the Salmon Summit, which contributed to a glaring
absence of Delta supporters at the historic seating of the Stewardship Council.
The absence of Delta support in the room was noted by one of the public
commentators.
The first order of business was for the Council to elect
their Chair. Not surprisingly, Phil Isenberg was unanimously elected
Chair. No Vice Chair was elected.
Then the appointees were introduced. Sacramento Supervisor
Don Notolli holds the only seat guaranteed to represent any Delta interest on
the Council by virtue of the fact that he is the Chairman of the Delta
Protection Commission. Besides
Supervisor Notolli, we have Hank Nordoff, Patrick Johnston, Randy Fiorini, Phil
Isenberg, Gloria Gray, and Richard Roos-Collins, who was absent.
Judge Ronald Robie officiated the swearing in of the
Council. Judge Robie, a former head of
DWR, reads and interprets water laws, some of which he wrote years ago.
Mr.
Isenberg called Judge Robie "one of the best water judges in the state; he
wrote the laws." Resources Agency Director Lester Snow told the newly sworn in
Council that one of their goals should be to keep the Council's actions out of
Judge Robie's court because "he's not a friend of ours." It is hard to know whose friend Snow thinks
Judge Robie is, but there was chuckling in the room by those thinking the BDCP
and Alternative Conveyance are done deals. Time will tell.
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Conflicts of interest
right from the start
Attending with Gloria Gray were friends and family and a
representative of the Latino Water Coalition, along with approximately a dozen
water district representatives. Gray is a board member of the West Basin
Municipal Water District, a Los Angeles County water provider that depends on
the Delta for a large share of its supply.
That imported Delta water is distributed by the Metropolitan Water
District, the largest single municipal buyer of Delta water. Gray is also a Metropolitan board member by
virtue of the fact that West Basin is a Metropolitan member agency.
In fact, besides four independent Delta representatives, the
auditorium was full of water exporters gloating over the fact that yet again,
their millions of dollars and bullying ways have stacked yet another public
entity in their favor.
Supervisor Notolli asked if the relationship of the Delta
Conservancy to the Council would include more local representation and address
the concerns and interests of the stakeholders living and working within the
Statutory Delta.
The answer was that the Conservancy will have 11 members, is
required to be located in the Statutory Delta, and will consist of 4 state
appointees, 2 governor's appointees and one appointee from each of the five
surrounding counties to make up the total of 11. One would hope the Assembly and Senate would
appoint representatives of greater Northern California interests. The counties have made their appointments;
the state has not.
With respect to county activities, Isenberg mentioned there
is inherent suspicion between local, state and federal governments; the Council
should constrain, limit and contract the local-to-state plan. He also stated "local governments are not
obligated to have state-wide perspectives." (Isenberg didn't say it, but it appears that the reverse is also true:
The state government is not obligated to consider the local perspective.)
The Conservancy is expected to roll out on its own after the
first fiscal year. The Conservancy is
projected to be a multi-billion dollar entity within five to 10 years. (That does tend to happen when you are the
"land grabber.") It is this writer's opinion that it will be imperative to not
only follow and keep up on the machinations of the BDCP, but to actively
participate in the Conservancy's agenda. With billions and billions of dollars in land assets private and public
at stake, we must ensure the Conservancy plays "fair" with stakeholders inside
the Statutory Delta as well as ALL of the citizens of California.
Among several issues that were discussed or questioned at
length was the Conflict of Interest Code the Council must adopt for itself.
Chris Stevens, legal council for the DSC stated he would let the members know
when the ex parte rules take effect so that there will be no "conflict of
interest" triggers.
On that note, Restore the Delta would like to see an
official letter of resignation from Gloria Gray, stepping down from her post on
the Board of Directors of Metropolitan Water District to sit on the Delta
Stewardship Council. In a letter dated March 26, Assemblyman Jared Huffman
asked Gray to choose whether to serve the council or her local constituents.
According to the Sacramento Bee's Matt Weiser, conflict also
surrounds Richard Roos-Collins. He is an
attorney for the Natural Heritage Institute and serves on the steering
committee of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. Since one of the Delta Stewardship Council's roles is to review the
BDCP, this also looks like a conflict of interest.
And then, of course, as previously reported by Restore the
Delta, Phil Isenberg's lobbying firm was representing the Irvine Water Ranch,
while Mr. Isenberg was heading up the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force.
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A cozy little
oversight relationship
Among the DSC's tasks as outlined in the legislation, the
first five are - To make early appointments and establish of
bodies and entities;
- To establish the Delta Independent Science
Board;
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To appoint the Lead Scientist;
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To consult with the SWRCB to appoint the "Water
Master" and;
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To work with federal agencies to coordinate the
Delta Plan, as long as there is funding to interact with same federal agencies.
Now we move on to another legislated responsibility of the
Council, and that is its Appellate authority with the BDCP. This looks more and more like the fox
guarding the hen house.
Joe Grindstaff slipped right over from being CALFED Director
to being Acting Executive Officer of the DSC.
He has been representing the California Bay-Delta Authority on the BDCP
Steering Committee. Grindstaff mentioned
that at the next BDCP Steering Committee meeting, he will step down due to
potential conflict of interest; however he wishes to remain in an ex officio
capacity.
The Council has authority to overturn any decision made by
the BDCP; it also has the authority to hear appeals from all concerned entities
with regard to the BDCP. But in fact,
the Council was established specifically to further the BDCP process as one of
the responsible entities for the permitting process. They are to comment on the Conservation Plan
prior to submittal for the EIR process, yet they have appellate authority over
their own decisions.
The
Council must consult with the SWRCB to appoint a Water Master-a very important
Council function. Another role of the SWRCB under the new Delta Plan is to
determine the minimum water flow criteria upon which conveyance will be based.
Chairman Isenberg asked, "If SWRCB can't
come up with the flow criteria in a timely manner, then what does the Council
do?" No one seems to know. |
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CALFED redux?
As the DSC has officially taken over the failed CALFED
program, the council has also inherited quite a bundle of preexisting conditions. For example, it inherited the appropriated
funding for CALFED to apply to start-up of the Council.
It also inherited existing Delta Science Research programs
totaling $23,116,000. The Executive
Office Expenses total $2,411,185, of which $320,528 is payable to Metropolitan
Water District of Southern California for the BDCP. What does this mean? CALFED was paying or
covering MWD expenses for the BDCP?
This is taxpayer money, and if MWD can get state/federal
funding for its activities on the BDCP, certainly it would only be equitable to
provide the same amount of money for local, independent and, right now,
volunteer efforts in the BDCP process.
CALFED receivables include $750,000 from US Bureau of
Reclamation, $300,000 from USGS, and a whopping $9 million from DWR, totaling
$10 million in monies owed now to the Council.
Spreck Rosekrans, of the Environmental Defense Fund, said
that some critics of the new legislation believe the Council has merely
inherited or taken over the failed CALFED, instead of creating something new
that answers the intentions of the legislation.
The roll-over appointments from CALFED to the DSC are:
Joe
Grindstaff, Interim Executive Officer
- Keith
Coolidge, Chief Deputy Executive Officer
Clifford
N. Dahm, Ph.D., Lead Scientist
Anke
Mueller-Solger, Ph.D., the Delta Stewardship Council Lead Scientist for
the Bay-Delta Interagency Ecological Program.
- Lauren
Hastings, Ph.D. Deputy Executive Officer for Science
- Chris
Stevens, Acting Chief Counsel
- Curt
Miller Assistant Director for Legislation
- Terry
Macauley, P.E., Acting Deputy Executive Officer for the Delta Stewardship
Council
- Livia
Page, Assistant Executive Officer for Administration for the Delta
Stewardship Council
One can appreciate Mr. Rosekrans' statement regarding
watching out for the same old, same old...that it is imperative new blood and
perspectives on a national and international level are brought to bear on the
Delta Independent Science Board and the science that will be relied upon to
determine not only flow criteria, but science legitimacy of the BDCP as
well. It is their science that will
drive our future one way or the other.
Supervisor Notolli also expressed concern that the Council will be a
repeat of the failed CALFED.
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Where is reduced
Delta reliance in all of this?
Another point driven home at this meeting was mandated
reduction of reliance upon the Delta for continued water supply. Actions undertaken by the Council should
focus on issues and actions outside as well as inside the Statutory Delta.
Randy Kanouse of EBMUD spoke first, congratulating the
Council on its formation. He also
mentioned the Council will be forced to make "Solomon-like decisions" with very
difficult tasks to accomplish. Mr.
Kanouse also recommended the Council have extremely capable staff who provide
written materials well before any announced meeting dates. And he advised Council members to allow
themselves plenty of time to be briefed by all perspectives, and to digest all
available options to the decisions to be made.
Jonas Minton of the Planning and Conservation League handed
out PCL's Eight Affordable Water Solutions to Achieve the Co-Equal Goals. Mr. Minton also pointed out that actions must
occur outside the Delta, not just within.
He suggested the Council consider two smaller diversions of a 5000cfs
canal conveyance and a 3000cfs tunnel.
Also, given the state of California's economy at this time, he
recommended withdrawing the Water Bond, waiting two years or so, and readdressing
the bond issue with a smaller bond that would have a better chance of being
passed.
Ron Jacobsma of Friant Water Authority commented that with
the inter-relationship of the BDCP to the Council, "if the BDCP fails, the
Council fails." Not a bad idea is it?
Chairman Isenberg scolded the representative from the
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) with a reminder that CDFA
has a responsibility to submit a report to the Council no later than
01/01/11. This paper must allow time to
be submitted to the DPC; then the DPC will submit the paper to the
Council. Isenberg stated that any delay
in submission of required reports from both state and federal agencies delays
the Council's decisions.
We are all concerned with the aggressive schedule of
deadlines.
Gary Bobker of the Bay Institute spoke on the legislated
outcomes the Council must provide: - The Council has been tasked to define desired
outcomes for the Delta;
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The Council must develop a plan that achieves
those goals. However, again, the actions
must take place outside the Delta more than within.
- California has been mandated to reduce further
reliance on the Delta water. What is
being done to reduce that reliance?
There is a disconnect between proposed actions and the actual reduction
of reliance on Delta water. Where is the
link? That must become a priority.
As with anything related to the Delta and its water,
ecosystem and culture, much is at stake here.
The Council is the first step California lawmakers have enacted to
address this complex issue.
For those of us that reside in or just love Northern
California with all of her blessings, this Council is just another layer of
government enabling an exporter water and power grab. We need to stay on top of Council activities to
ensure that all requirements of the law are met.
The Delta is not an industrial water pumping facility here
to make resource-depleting economic development of Southern California
possible. Nor is it here to line the
pockets of members of Westlands Water District pockets with billions of dollars
over time, enabling them to acquire government-subsidized water for resale on
the open market.
The Delta is a beautifully created, abundant ecosystem that
has done a pretty darn good job of meeting all of the demands placed upon
her. But she is maxed out. It is up to our collective inventiveness to
find or invent those technologies that truly enable us to become more
self-sufficient and responsible with the types of demands made upon our
environment.
If technology actually found ways to meet our human demands
without requiring those needs be met by free-flowing waters, wouldn't that also
meet the co-equal goals? |
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Donate Now
Restore the Delta is working everyday through public education and
citizen activism to ensure the restoration and future sustainability of
the California Delta. Your general contribution can help us sponsor
outreach events, enable us to educate Californians on what makes the
Delta so special, and assist us in building a coalition that will be
recognized by government water agencies as they make water management
decisions.
Restore the Delta is a charitable 501(c)3 organization. Donations are tax deductible.
Click on the button below to go to our secure PayPal account.
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Restore the Delta is a grassroots campaign committed to making the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta fishable, swimmable, drinkable, and farmable to benefit all of California. Restore the Delta - a coalition of Delta residents, business leaders, civic organizations, community groups, faith-based communities, union locals, farmers, fishermen, and environmentalists - seeks to strengthen the health of the estuary and the well-being of Delta communities. Restore the Delta works to improve water quality so that fisheries and farming can thrive together again in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Sincerely,
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Restore the Delta
Email: barbara@restorethedelta.org
Web: http://www.restorethedelta.org
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