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CSPA protests State Board’s secret order allowing export pumping

Posted by: Maven on July 31, 2008 at 5:43 am

From IndyBay.org, this press release from Bill Jennings and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance:

Today, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) submitted a formal petition to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) asking it to reconsider its issuance of a “secret” Order allowing export pumping to be increased despite violation of Delta water quality standards. The Order was issued in response to a petition from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). South Delta Water Agency has also asked the State Board to reconsider the decision.

“This despicable backroom deal undercuts one of the few remaining protections for water quality and fisheries in the Delta,” said CSPA Executive Director Bill Jennings. “It’s a clear message that the State cares more about sending water to grow cotton in the desert than it cares about protecting Delta agriculture and endangered species.”

The order, issued by one Member of the five-member State Board and without public notice or public hearing, authorizes DWR and USBR to use the Joint Point of Diversion (JPOD), even if water quality standards in the south Delta are being violated. The JPOD allows the DWR and USBR to use each other’s pumping plants interchangeably thus “maximizing” water exports from the Delta.

Not having to meet water quality standards in the Delta before using JPOD effectively eliminates one of the major protections of water quality and fisheries in the south Delta. High salinity levels severely impact the yield of Delta agriculture and measures that reduce salinity generally help fish by reducing water exports.

The Delta salinity standards, measured at three locations in the South Delta, coupled with the Vernalis instream flow and Delta Outflow requirements comprise virtually the only protection for water quality and fisheries mandated by the State of California. The salinity standards were originally included in the 1995 Water Quality Control Plan for the Bay-Delta and affirmed in State Board Decision 1641 in 2000, which implemented the 1995 Plan.

Read more of this press release from the CSPA posted on IndyBay.org by clicking here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Delta Issues, Water Quality

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