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Wednesday’s top of the scroll: Delta supporters rally at Capitol’s doorstep

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 8, 2009 at 8:13 am

From Stockton’s Record:

It seems all the attention has gone to the south San Joaquin Valley, where marches, public demonstrations and news conferences have highlighted the cry for water there.

Tuesday it was the Delta’s turn.

More than 200 farmers, fishers and Delta residents turned out for a rally at the steps of the Capitol, inside of which negotiations on a series of water bills continue even while the budget takes center stage.

While advocates condemned a peripheral canal – the “Panama Canal North,” as some now call it – Tuesday’s event was more about demanding a voice in the proceedings. Advocates say they’re worried behind-the-scenes legislative maneuvering could alter existing water bills, authorizing and funding a canal with little opportunity for the public to comment.

“You can’t fix the Delta without the people of the Delta as your partners,” said state Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, who argues that water officials in their endless debates have largely forgotten the unique people and features of the largest estuary on the West Coast. Her 5th Senate District includes portions of San Joaquin County.

She described the canal, which would divert Sacramento River flows around the Delta to state and federal pumps near Tracy, as a “100-lane freeway” cutting through Delta farmland; a 2006 report described the canal as anywhere from 500 to more than 700 feet wide at its top. The state has estimated the cost at $4.2 billion to $7.4 billion.

Read more from The Record by clicking here.

From the Fresno Bee:

At Tuesday’s event, delta advocates charged that legislators were ignoring their input as they consider the canal and other water proposals behind closed doors.

“In a time where the budget is spiraling out of control … it makes no sense to move forward with a multibillion boondoggle idea like a peripheral canal and new dams,” said Steve Evans, conservation director of Friends of the River, an environmental group.

Residents near the estuary — including farmers who rely on its freshwater supply — fear the canal is a water grab by the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. Canal supporters say the project could protect fish endangered by delta pumping, while keeping water flowing to south-state users. The canal would siphon Sacramento River water upstream of the delta and send it to the pumps near Tracy.

So-called “working groups” of lawmakers have examined multiple water proposals in private meetings. Multiple bills have been authored calling for water bonds in the range of $9.8 billion to $15 billion. Proposals also include new government agencies to promote the “coequal goals of restoring the delta” and “creating a more reliable water supply.”

But so far no consensus has emerged on any of the proposals as most of the attention in Sacramento is on the state’s budget woes.

Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.

Lt. Governor John Garamendi, himself a Delta resident, also attended the rally, and issued this statement on the California Notes blog:

The Delta Visioning Process’s twin goals of reliable water supply and enhanced Delta environment have great merit, but they can not be achieved in secret, or apart from those who live, recreate and work in the Delta. 500,000 people live in the Delta, creating a vibrant social fabric and a vibrant economy. The legislature and the governor must bring transparency to these long term and critical discussions regarding the Delta. The complex interactions of science, ecological systems, water exports, political constituencies, and the extraordinary expense requires a thorough public vetting of all proposals.

Any discussion of a peripheral canal must follow a solid guarantee that protects the Delta economy and the terrestrial and aquatic environment of the Delta. The battle cry in the 1982 peripheral canal fight was “Policy before Plumbing.” To this date no solid lasting public policy is in place to guarantee both goals of the Delta Visioning Commission. Therefore the canal should not be part of any legislation.

The voice of the Delta must be embedded in any proposal to establish a system of governance in the Delta. The proposal by the five counties that encompass the Delta has great merit and should be in any water legislation.

Read more of Garamendi’s commentary by clicking here.

Also attending the rally was Jeff Burgess, the Infrastructure Examiner, who penned this commentary:

Lt. Governor Garamendi seemed even-keeled, noting that the Delta’s ecosystem problems are a result of water exports. Indeed, all the major Delta studies to date have indicated that the export facilities located in the South Delta are the major factor in the degradation of the Delta’s ecosystem. Garamendi also called for expanded reclamation of wastewater, and – of course – greater conservation. Garamendi did note that “They’ve come up with a very viable plan”. However, Garamendi asked “Where’s the policy that guarantees the environment of the Delta?” Obviously that policy is clearly stipulated in the co-equal goals of Governor Schwarzenegger’s Delta Vision effort: Restore the Delta ecosystem and create a reliable water supply for California.

Back to the premise: is this about having a voice, or control? Delta locals were represented on the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force. They have been invited to join the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) Steering Committee. BDCP Steering Committee meetings are open to the public. Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency Mike Chrisman meets with Local Delta leaders twice each month. Numerous public outreach meetings have been held in each Delta county. So why do Delta locals continue talking about not having a voice?

Read the full text of Jeff’s commentary by clicking here.

July 8, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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