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June 3, 2010
"It is useless for the sheep
to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a
different opinion."
--Dean Inge
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Ten more years to deal with
that pesky selenium?
West side farmers just can't make that deadline for cleaning
up their irrigation water. They've been
trying for 14 years and have spent $100 million - although not all their own
money, of course. But they need more
time to develop a water treatment plant to eliminate contamination from 97,000
acres between Firebaugh and Interstate 5.
The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board has
given its approval for a 10-year extension for the Grassland Bypass
Project. The California Sportfishing
Protection Alliance and the California Water Impact Network argued that contamination
will jeopardize revival of salmon runs and harm wildlife as far out as Suisun
Bay. They said that a two-year extension
would have been more reasonable than a full decade.
Farm representatives argue that fish pass through the river
when higher flows dilute the selenium level.
Next, the matter goes to the State Water Resources Control
Board, which is not known for making decisions that might inconvenience west
side agriculture. They apparently still
don't view selenium as a stressor.
Click Here to read more. |
| Only fast thinkers need
apply
On May 28, the State Lands Commission, on behalf of the
Delta Protection Commission, sent out a letter soliciting Proposals for
Consulting Services entitled "Development of the Framework for Preparation of
an Economic Sustainability Plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta" (Bid Log
No. 2009-14).
The final date for proposal submission is June 14, by 2:00
p.m.
That allows just 17 days, 14 if we don't count the Memorial
Day weekend that immediately followed the letter's mailing date.
The timeframe could be viewed as favoring bidders already
well-connected to Delta policy and governance processes.
Of course, the DPC is itself driven by the same legislation
that is driving the rest of Delta governance activities. The legislation gave the Delta Stewardship
Council a January 1, 2012 deadline for delivering the Delta Plan. The DSC need a an interim plan by this August
in order to have a first draft of the Delta Plan by November and allow three
turnaround drafts during the comment period.
A positive angle: The economic sustainability plan must
include flood protection recommendations to state and local agencies.
Estimated contract start date is July 15.
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No hurdles for Mount
The Delta Reform Act
of 2009 requires the new Delta Stewardship Council to appoint an Independent
Science Board "not directly affiliated with a program or agency subject to
the review activities of the ISB." It also requires that the ISB review
and comment on the draft EIR/EIS for BDCP.
At the DSC meeting on
May 27, ten candidates out of a pool of 63 applicants for the ISB were
submitted to the Council. The candidates
were selected by Dr. Cliff Dahm, the interim lead scientist; Phil Isenberg, the
chairman; and Dr. Jeffrey Mount, the chair of the previous CALFED Independent
Science Board.
The candidates
included Dr. Mount.
According to what
definition is this "independent"?
For several years,
Mount has been saying that significant portions of the western and central
Delta will inevitably revert to open water habitat. That is the future he envisions.
We hope to see people
on the Independent Science Panel who might be more inclined to consider
reinforcing levees so that they can withstand floods, earthquakes, and
sea-level rise, protecting people and property, infrastructure, agriculture,
and recreation.
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You couldn't run a
business this way
by Karen Medders
It has been interesting theater witnessing the learning
curve of the private citizens who are our new Delta Stewardship Council
members. Besides sorting out the
overwhelming number of agencies, entities, outside and inside interests all
with fingers in the Delta pie, these new members have to learn about water
rights laws and the current paper water mess.
They've also gotten a crash course in BDCP 101.
At the May 27-28 DSC meeting, they got a taste of what we
are accustomed to from the BDCP,
including the MO of waiting until the very last minute to provide any
documentation for PowerPoint presentations. The Council also got to see the usual fuzzy prints projected on the wall
for nobody to see, not to mention all of the acronyms which of course will make
your eyes bleed.
It was satisfying to hear Council member Hank Nordhoff give
the BDCP Public Outreach Panel a well-deserved rebuke. Mr. Nordhoff, chairman
and chief executive officer of Gen-Probe, with an MBA in international business
and finance from Columbia University, said that the lack of time to read and
process this new information was making him feel like a complete idiot. He also chastised the presenters for the poor
quality of the slides being projected.
Later the first day, Mr. Grindstaff commented that the BDCP
has 'gone rogue' and is in need of monitoring. To that end, Mr. Nordhoff requested the BDCP provide a written summary
of the previous month's activities to be submitted for review at each DSC
meeting. He also suggested the Council
come up with its own list of alternatives and instruct the BDCP to address
those alternatives, instead of the other way around.
The Council members will also be dropping in on BDCP
Steering Committee meetings to monitor how the meetings are coming along.
It is nice to finally see the dog wag the tail,
instead of the tail wagging the dog. We
just might have a real opportunity to get this out-of-control government
process back under some scrutiny and control. Thank you, Mr. Nordhoff and Council members!
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Will the DSC be better
listeners?
The DSC heard from three panelists from outside the BDCP
process regarding their perceptions of what "success of the BDCP" would look
like to them.
Gilbert Cosio of MBK Engineers raised the issue of flood
control, an issue about which the North Delta Water Agency's Melinda Terry
continually reminds the BDCP Steering Committee. Mr. Cosio commented on the failure of the
BDCP to incorporate any mention of flood control in their plan. He then addressed the current situations with
Delta levees and advised the Council against waiting to take near-term actions.
Mr. Cosio mentioned that monies from Propositions 84 and 1E
have been appropriated, but the Reclamation Districts cannot get the funds from
the Department of Finance; $15,000,000 has been waiting at the Department of
Finance since April 2009. Matching
grants for maintenance and repairs have been funded, but the RDs have no idea
if bonds have been sold, and DWR has no idea when the money will be released.
Dick Poole, owner of San Francisco-based Pro-Troll Products
(a company that creates and markets innovative fishing and marine products)
spoke on behalf of the salmon fishing industry. He said that their major stakeholders have been "mostly shut out" of the
process.
He reminded the Council of the economic losses sustained by
the salmon industry during the past 2 years. Mr. Poole noted that at the April
11th Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife hearing, there was no
mentioned of protections for fish. Aggressive deadlines make it impossible to adequately address these
issues.
Mr. Poole presented 10 Action Steps to the Council. Included is a request that the Council write
a letter in support of the Biological Opinions and also support the State Water
Board flow in-Delta criteria submitted to the Interim Plan process. This would be helpful in turning around the
salmon numbers. This same report was
presented to the National Academy of Science and has been cited by the NAS in
their presentation in Davis.
Mark Pruner, President of North Delta Community and
Residents for a Stable Environment (CARES) represented landowners and residents
in the North Delta area of the Primary Zone and Clarksburg stakeholders'
interests. Along with most of the previous
panel members, Mr. Pruner criticized the BDCP for its failure to make use of
extensive local Delta expertise and
knowledge. He also criticized BDCP's
failure to seriously consider viable alternatives.
To the question whether local landowners, residents and business owners would
have the people to participate in these processes, the answer was a resounding
"YES".
As supervisor Don Nottoli said, "We cannot solve the
problems of the state on the backs of the people of the Delta. It is not just the Delta environment at
stake, it's the people, too."
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A glimpse of how the Dutch view floods
The DSC got a
European perspective from Annemieke Nijhoff,
Director-General, Directorate-General of Water Affairs at the Ministry of
Transport, Public Works and Water Management, the Netherlands. She said that the Netherlands designs for
10,000 year sea flood events and 1,250 year river flood events. By contrast, here in California we are
thinking in terms of 100, 200, or 500 year floods.
Another point Ms. Nijhoff made is that for sea level rise or
other fresh water concerns, entrepreneurs must have time to change their
business operations and long term plans, and the business community, especially
agriculture, needs 30-40 years to make changes.
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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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