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How it works: The Bay Delta Conservation Plan

Posted by: Maven on July 4, 2009 at 8:19 am

From the Contra Costa Times:

In early 2005, state biologists began sharing some alarming new information: The populations of an entire suite of Delta fish species had begun a nose dive three years earlier. Since one of those fish was protected under endangered species laws, the findings meant Delta pumps surely would be more tightly regulated.

This confronted big water agencies with two basic problems: First, they already knew the channels that convey water to the southern Delta pumps were becoming increasingly unreliable. Second, endangered species laws were now threatening to restrict their access to Delta water.

The solution was to attempt an escape from the strict, extinction-preventing rules of the Endangered Species Act by turning to a more flexible section of the law. The shift would allow water agencies to partially escape tight regulatory oversight, but it also requires them to come up with a detailed “habitat conservation plan” to improve the fate of all sorts of wildlife, including endangered fish.

The success of such plans has been mixed, but in theory they turn efforts away from single species to broader conservation goals. In the process they can provide regulatory stability — in this case, assurances that water supplies will be predictable.

Read more from Mike Taugher at the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.

July 4, 2009 · Filed Under Delta Issues

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