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Water plan to protect Delta: State Water Resources Board proposes self makeover

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2008 at 7:19 am

Hoping to streamline their work and improve enforcement, the State Water Resources board has proposed it’s own reorganization plan, which has two parts: legislation to overhaul its structure and duties, and a strategic plan to regulate San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. More details from the Sacramento Bee:

The proposal for legislation comes in the form of a “water quality improvement initiative” that could become a rider on a forthcoming state budget bill. It builds on a water quality bill by Senate Majority Leader Don Perata, SB 1176, that is now stalled.

The proposal would reduce the size of the regional boards from nine to seven members to minimize chronic vacancies. Each chairman would become a full-time, paid position to improve accountability and expertise.

It would streamline the now-cumbersome process to adopt water pollution limits by bringing California’s system into accord with federal procedures.

To improve enforcement, the boards would be freed of issuing written notices before penalizing polluters, and a requirement to hold a public hearing before referring such cases to the attorney general would be abolished. City attorneys and district attorneys in large cities would gain the power to seek civil penalties against polluters if requested by the water board. Only the attorney general has this power now.

The second prong of the overhaul package is the “Bay-Delta strategic work plan.” It proposes an aggressive regulatory agenda to improve water quality and habitat in the largest estuary on the west coast of the Americas. The plan is scheduled to be presented to the state board Tuesday in Sacramento and could be adopted as soon as July 16.

It proposes an ambitious schedule to review existing water rights within and upstream of the Delta to ensure diverters are following the law. This includes the complex diversion rules governing the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project, which deliver Delta water to 25 million Californians. The plan would evaluate the need for more fish screens on these diversions and whether in-stream flows are adequate to provide quality fish habitat.

The board also would develop a strategy to achieve the governor’s call for a 20 percent reduction in per capita water consumption by 2020. This could impose new mandates on local water agencies. The plan would take up to five years to carry out.

Both proposals can be viewed on the water board’s Web site, www.swrcb.ca.gov.

Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

June 30, 2008 · Filed Under Water Quality, Water Rights

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