Tuesday, December 10, 2013

News articles and links from December 10, 2013


Bay Delta Conservation Plan

From: Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee
From: Dan Walters, Modesto Bee

Gov. Jerry Brown's administration released two massive documents Monday, detailing its plans to build twin tunnels beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and complete the last link of the water system his father began more than a half-century ago.

Minutes later, opponents of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan declared that they will use every available legal and political process to kill it.

Coalition response... It is interesting to note that opponents of the plan were condemning it only minutes after the release of the document that took many years worth of scientific research, engineering investigation, and conservation expertise to create. In their haste to maintain the precarious status quo, opponents of the BDCP are willing to sacrifice the opportunity to provide reliable water supplies while improving the sustainability of the Bay-Delta.

From: Andrew Creasey, Marysville Appeal-Democrat

Local elected officials and legislators unanimously disapprove of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and its proposal to construct two massive tunnels to divert water from the north toward the south.

The public draft of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and environmental impacts reports and statements were released on Monday - about 34,000 pages of studies seven years in the making.

Coalition response... The California Farm Water Coalition is a statewide organization with members from Redding to the Imperial Valley. While many Northern Californians believe that the BDCP will be harmful to the region, ecosystem improvements in the Delta will help improve the survivability of salmon that return to the Sacramento River and its tributaries to spawn. Fixing long-standing problems in the Delta will have benefits for Northern California fisheries while modernizing and improving the efficiency of our aging infrastructure.

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

From: Paul Rogers, San Jose Mercury News  
From: Paul Rogers, Contra Costa Times  

Ever since he took office three years ago, Gov. Jerry Brown has been trying to build two landmark public works projects to reshape California: a $68 billion high-speed rail system and a $25 billion overhaul of the state's water system, including two massive tunnels under the Delta.

Both have been debated separately so far, with most public attention going to the bullet train plan.

From: Heather Hacking, Chico Enterprise-Record

The environmental reports for plans for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan were released Monday, beginning a new flurry of debate.

The $24.7 billion plan, seven years in the making, includes Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal for 35 miles of tunnels that would move water under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, rather than through a system of pumps in the south Delta that are known to harm fish.

From: John Myers, News10.net

Seven years and tens of thousands of pages in the making, state officials have submitted their full proposal for a Delta water system that seeks compromise on what may be California's most long-running and heated battle.

"It's a complicated picture," said Paul Helliker, deputy director of the state Department of Water Resources.

From: Bettina Boxall, L.A. Times

A $25-billion proposal to re-engineer the hub of California's sprawling water system may not yield all the water that San Joaquin Valley farmers and Southland cities want, leaving open the question of whether the massive project will be built.

The delivery estimates are included in draft plans and environmental impact documents released Monday. Totaling more than 30,000 pages, the drafts underscore the many uncertainties about a project that has been in the planning stages for years and is a centerpiece of Gov. Jerry Brown's water policy.

From: Melody Gutierrez, San Francisco Chronicle

After seven years in the making, the $25 billion plan to build two massive tunnels diverting water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is up for public review. And one thing is clear: You better grab your reading glasses.

From: Matt Weiser, Fresno Bee  
From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee

A new future for the troubled Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta was laid out for public review Monday in 34,000 pages of analysis associated with two giant water diversion tunnels proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown. The question now for the public and policy makers: Is this the future they want?


California water officials have released a draft copy of a $24.7 billion plan to restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, in part by building two 30-mile tunnels to ensure stable water delivery to millions of Californians.

The joint federal and state Bay Delta Conservation Plan and environmental impact analysis released Monday includes plans for building the tunnels and completing significant habitat restoration work to improve the delivery of mountain snowmelt to Central Valley farms and cities throughout the state.

From: Jason Dearen, SFgate.com

California water officials on Monday released a draft of a $24.7 billion plan to restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, in part by building two 30-mile underground tunnels to ensure stable water delivery to millions of Californians.

The joint federal and state Bay Delta Conservation Plan, or BDCP, and environmental impact analysis comes after seven years of study, and includes plans for building the tunnels and completing significant habitat restoration work to improve the delivery of mountain snowmelt to Central Valley farms and cities throughout the state.

At the heart of the 50-year plan unveiled last summer by Gov. Jerry Brown are the twin tunnels with a 9,000-cubic-feet-per-second capacity that would replace the delta's current pumping system that endangers fish and other wildlife.

From: Jim Carlton, Wall Street Journal (subscription required)

A contentious project to divert water supplied to Southern California past an ecologically sensitive river delta moved a step closer to fruition Monday, as state and federal officials unveiled a draft final environmental analysis.

Under the $25 billion plan, which is backed by Gov. Jerry Brown, two 30-mile-long tunnels would bypass the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in Northern California. The area often serves as a choke point for water destined for more than 20 million people and farmland in semiarid parts of Southern California and the Central Valley because of pumping restrictions to protect endangered smelt and other fish.

From: Lauren Sommer, KQED Science Blog

Seven years in the making, state officials on Monday unveiled the latest version of their ambitious plan for revitalizing the heart of California's embattled water system and securing supplies for decades to come.

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan and its environmental review weigh in at 34,000 pages - that's before public comments start pouring in next week for a 120-day feedback period.

From: Staff, State Water Contractors

Note: A summary of public statements and comments on the BDCP compiled by the State Water Contractors.

From: CTRS Staff, News10.net

Monday, a statewide coalition and a few lawmakers presented a united front against Gov. Brown's proposed tunnel water project. Their protest comes as the EPA just released environmental impact documents on the nearly $25 billion project.

The proposal calls for building tunnels to divert water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the Central Valley to benefit farmers. It's called the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, but opponents say the project could threaten habitats for wildlife such as fish populations and sandhill cranes which rely on the water from the delta to thrive.

Levees

From: Dennis Taylor, The Salinas Californian

With rain on the horizon, growers in the Salinas Valley are hoping for two things: A wet winter and a not-so-wet winter.

With regulators having put the kibosh on allowing farmers to cut trees and brush and remove debris and sediment, the Salinas River channel is estimated to accommodate only half the water volume of recent years, a situation farmers underscore by recalling the disastrous flood of 1995.

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