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Delta Vision Foundation presents analysis of Delta/water bills

Posted by: Maven on August 19, 2009 at 8:51 am

From the Delta Vision Foundation:

Today, an in-depth analysis by the Delta Vision Foundation (formerly the Governor’s Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force) took center stage at a critical committee meeting on Delta/Water legislation at the State Capitol. The Foundation reviewed and commented on five pieces of Delta/Water legislation that address the ongoing crisis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Today’s testimony took place at the joint session of the Assembly Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee and the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.

“We have taken a second look at this package of bills,” said Phil Isenberg, chair of the Foundation. “We found that as a set, these are strong bills and they do a good job of building on the Delta Vision Strategic Plan, but they can be better. Our advice is simple: Do the big things right; fight about the rest”

According to the Foundation’s analysis, the current package of preprint bills makes substantial progress in implementing the Delta Vision Strategic Plan but would be improved by 10 major changes to mirror the Strategic Plan. Those areas include:

•Return to the definition of coequal goals as “restoring the Delta ecosystem and creating a more reliable water supply for California.”
•Return to a Governor’s appointment for all members of the Delta Council, with Senate approval, as recommended in the Delta Vision Strategic Plan.
•Enhance the independence of the Delta Council by explicitly stating that it is independent.
•Return to the recommendations of the Delta Vision Strategic Plan regarding powers and responsibilities of both the Delta Protection Commission and the Delta Conservancy.
•Return to the recommended targets for habitat restoration, critical for ecosystem function in the Delta estuary.
•Return to the Council the authority to adopt a Delta Plan, the requirement that state agencies conform to that Plan, and give the Council authority to ensure consistency of state and local agency actions with the Delta Plan.
•Return to a general insistence that there should be an effective integration of federal agencies and activities into implementation of the Delta Plan, including exploring an option of a functional equivalent alternative to the CZMA recommendation if that better suits the needs of the federal government.
•Guarantee adequate funding of the Council and the projects included in the Delta Plan by removing the requirement for legislative appropriations of revenues generated under the authority in SB 1p.
•Make explicit that any related bond is effectively linked to the Delta Council and Delta Plan.
•Return to the recommended waivers to contracting procedures and an expedited CEQA process for the Council and Conservancy to speed action.

The Delta Vision Strategic Plan was released in October 2008. The plan included a set of integrated recommendations by which the fundamental and co-equal goals of water supply reliability and Delta ecosystem restoration could be met by adopting the package in full.

View the full Delta Vision Foundation analysis at: http://www.deltavisionfoundation.org/reports.php

August 19, 2009 · Filed Under Legislation - State & Federal

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