Coalition Submits Alternate Delta Plan to Stewardship Council

SACRAMENTO, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 13, 2011) - A coalition of leading water resources managers throughout California, with strong support from statewide associations and other organizations, has presented the Delta Stewardship Council with an alternative to the latest staff drafts of the Delta Plan. The 50-page Alternate Delta Plan is aimed at promoting more robust discussion of policy questions facing the council and ensuring council members have a complete range of options to consider as they formulate a final Delta Plan by the Jan. 1, 2012, statutory deadline.

The coalition has formally requested that the council include the Alternate Delta Plan as a project alternative in the draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the Delta Plan. The council is expected to release its fourth staff draft today. Council Chair Phil Isenberg has stated the fourth staff draft will largely provide the basis for the environmental review.

Paul Kelley, president of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), said the council has an historic opportunity to craft a long-term vision for the Delta. "We have developed this Alternate Delta Plan because we are deeply committed to helping the council fulfill that important charge. We encourage the council to consider our plan, in its entirety, as it formulates a final Delta Plan."

In a seven-page letter submitted concurrently with the Alternate Delta Plan on June 10, the coalition identified key policy questions the council has not yet addressed. The questions are essential to the success of the plan and deserve public discussion, the coalition said in the letter, signed by more than 20 associations and agencies.

"The Delta Stewardship Council is poised to make decisions that will affect our water supply, economy and environment for decades to come," Timothy Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), said. "Our coalition is concerned that the council has not examined key questions that must be answered before making an informed decision on the plan. Our letter and Alternate Delta Plan are meant to trigger broader discussion of these issues and ensure council members have a more complete range of options to consider."

The Alternate Delta Plan differs from the staff drafts in several important respects, Quinn noted. The plan developed by the coalition seeks to significantly improve water supplies for all areas of the state, compared with current levels. It also seeks to protect and enhance the Delta ecosystem, as well as the economic vitality of the Delta and other regions of the state.

In another key contrast, the Alternate Delta Plan employs an array of management tools including local resources development, conveyance improvements, steps to address Delta stressors and other strategies to achieve the co-equal goals of improved water supply reliability and ecosystem health. To date, the staff drafts have appeared to take a more narrow approach that calls for reducing Delta exports from current levels and augmenting flows in an attempt to benefit fisheries. The coalition believes such a narrow approach cannot achieve the co-equal goals.

To be successful, the Alternate Delta Plan states, the plan that is ultimately approved "must protect and enhance: (i) water supply reliability throughout the state; (ii) the health and sustainability of the Delta ecosystem for resident and migratory species; and (iii) the economic vitality of the Delta and other regions of the state."

It further states that improvements in Delta water quality, flood protection, and emergency preparedness are critical to the health and sustainability of the Delta ecosystem and the economy of the Delta and the rest of California. "The only way to achieve these ambitious goals -- as set forth in the 2009 legislation -- is to base decisions on the best available science and to be able to adapt as conditions change," the Alternate Delta Plan states.

Mike Hardesty, general manager of Reclamation District No. 2068, said protecting and enhancing the economic vitality of the Delta and other regions is critical. "Successful achievement of the co-equal goals means improving the situation for all regions, not just some," Hardesty said. "The Alternate Delta Plan recognizes that supporting improvements for all areas of the state provides the best opportunity for success."

Byron Buck, executive director of the State and Federal Contractors Water Agency, said the Alternate Delta Plan's comprehensive approach would be more effective than focusing solely on flows to address ecosystem problems. "The past two decades have taught us that a plan that relies primarily on flow-related measures cannot succeed," Buck said. "We need a comprehensive approach that integrates flows with other measures to enhance habitat and reduce all stressors on the Delta ecosystem. As the work of Delta Vision concluded, we need storage, Delta conveyance improvements, and ecosystem restoration investments to achieve the co-equal goals."

David Guy, president of the Northern California Water Association, noted that accomplishing the co-equal goals requires partnerships and unprecedented levels of collaboration among state and local agencies throughout California. "These complex relationships will not be created or sustained through onerous and unnecessary regulation. Our Alternate Delta Plan recognizes that assurances and incentives within a framework of accountability are far more effective at creating the necessary partnerships than prescriptive regulatory approaches," Guy said.

The policy letter and the Alternate Delta Plan are available at www.acwa.com.

Additional contact info:

Mike Hardesty, Reclamation District No. 2068, 707/678-5412
Byron Buck, State and Federal Contractors Water Agency, 916/476-5052
David Guy, Northern California Water Association, 916/442-8333

ACWA is a statewide association of public agencies whose 440 members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California. For more information, visit www.acwa.com.