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April 23, 2010
"Vested interests have never been known to have willingly divested themselves unless there was sufficient force to compel them."
--B.R. Ambedkar (Founder of the Indian Constitution) |
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Huber Reintroduces Bill to Stop Peripheral Canal without Legislative Vote
Assemblymember Alyson Huber is leading the charge to protect the Delta with the reintroduction of her bill to prohibit the construction of a peripheral canal through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta without a full fiscal analysis and a vote of the state legislature.
Monday, April 26th, she will be joined by co-authors including Senator Lois Wolk, as well as representatives from Delta area communities, in stressing the critical need for the legislative oversight, provided in AB 1594, to protect the Delta region.
Press Conference on AB 1594 - Delta Peripheral Canal Prohibition -- Monday, April 26th -- 9:30am
State Capitol, Room 317
Note: The press conference will be streamed live. A link can be found on www.asm.ca.gov/huber
After a recent joint hearing of State Assembly and Senate committees on the funding and implementation of the 2009 legislative package on water, there are many concerns being raised about the Delta Stewardship Council and its ability to exercise its independent authority to develop the Delta Plan in light of decisions being made by the Department of Water Resources and the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. Many believe the Council is likely to rubber stamp plans for a canal as suggested by the Governor and others.
AB 1594 will be heard in Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife on Tuesday, April 27th. The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. in Room 437. Come and let Committee Chairman Jared Huffman and the Committee Members why you support Assemblymember Huber's bill. |
Restore the Delta Files Complaint with the State Attorney General
This week Restore the Delta filed a formal complaint with the Office of the California Attorney General regarding the appointment of Gloria D. Gray and Richard Roos-Collins to the Delta Stewardship Council. After reviewing Governmental Code 1099, the doctrine of incompatibility of offices, Restore the Delta staff observed the following in its complaint:
Ms. Gloria D. 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. Thus, Restore the Delta maintains that her role as a Board Member of the Metropolitan Water District is incompatible with her role as a member of the Delta Stewardship Council - which has been given the legislative directive to create a Delta plan that will further the coequal goals of Delta restoration and water supply reliability - because Ms. Gray's role with the Metropolitan Water District is centered on establishing water supply reliability for the greater Los Angeles area.
Based on sections 2 and 3 of Government Code 1099, there is a possibility of a significant clash of duties or loyalties between the two offices (Metropolitan Water District Board Member and Delta Stewardship Council Member), and that public policy consideration for Delta restoration makes it improper for Ms. Davis to hold both a Board Position with the Metropolitan Water District and the Delta Stewardship Council.
Richard Roos-Collins is an attorney for the Natural Heritage Institute and serves on the Steering Committee of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. If the Department of Fish and Game approves the Bay Delta Conservation Plan as a Natural Community Conservation Plan and it meets the federal Endangered Species Act requirements, WC 85320(e) of the 2009 legislation creating the Delta Stewardship Council states that the Delta Stewardship Council shall incorporate the Bay Delta Conservation Plan into the Council's Delta Plan.
The Department of Fish and Game determination, however, can be appealed by outside parties to the Delta Stewardship Council. How can a Delta Stewardship Council Member be unbiased in the ruling on the adequacy of a Bay Delta Conservation Plan, which he helped develop and approved, if it is appealed by an outside party? Here, once again, we see a possibility of a significant clash of duties or loyalties between the offices (Delta Stewardship Council Appointee and BDCP Steering Committee Member) and maintain that the public policy consideration being made for the restoration of the Delta through the Delta Stewardship Council's Delta Plan makes it improper for Mr. Collins to hold both offices.
We will keep you posted on any and all outcomes from this complaint.
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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.
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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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