Public hearings to begin on Monterey Amendments
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 2, 2007 at 7:26 amFrom the California Progress Report:
Next week the Department of Water Resources (DWR) will hear from the public on whether or not to eliminate a drought safeguard for over 20 million Californians.
Millions of Californians now receive a portion of their water supply from the State Water Project (SWP). As part of the original agreement to purchase SWP water, these Californians were given priority for water deliveries during times of drought or shortage. However, in 1995, the State and a handful of SWP contractors attempted to amend the SWP contracts. As part of those negotiations, the urban safeguard was eliminated from the water contracts. As a result, urban areas are at greater risk of water cutbacks during droughts.
Fortunately, the amendments have not been adopted permanently. As part of a lawsuit by PCL and two other plaintiffs, the State was forced to do an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the effects of the proposed amendments and present that EIR to the public for full review. After responding to all public comments, DWR must decide whether to adopt the original amendments, including elimination of the urban safeguard. Alternatively, DWR could choose to implement other water management strategies that would better serve California.
These amendments are called the “Monterey Amendments”, and you can have an opportunity to comment on them. Click here to read the full text of this article from California Progress Report, with listings of public hearings on this issue. To read the EIR, and for more information on the Monterey Amendments, click here.
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