State has tunnel vision
Environmental review to begin for Delta project
Last May, Gov. Gavin Newsom halted the plan to build two giant underground tunnels that would have diverted water from the San Joaquin Delta to Southern California, and directed state agencies to look into building a single tunnel for the project.
On Wednesday, the state took the first step in making Newsom’s suggestion a reality, as the Department of Water Resources released a Notice of Preparation proposal for the project. The move initiates the environmental review for the now-single tunnel water diversion plan.
“This project would help safeguard a vital source of affordable water for millions of Californians,” DWR Director Karla Nemeth said in a media statement posted on the agency’s website Wednesday.
“This water supply is critical to the health of local communities, the future of the Delta ecosystem and the success of our state’s economy,” she added.
The previous project, initiated by former Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration, was a $16 billion plan that involved building two 35-mile long tunnels that diverted water from the Sacramento River to Southern California.
The proposed new project is described in the state’s notice of preparation as a single underground tunnel with two intakes, that together have a total diversion capacity of 6,000 cubic feet per second. That equals 44,833 gallons per second.
However, the proposal adds that there could be potential alternatives that would divert a variety of water capacities ranging from 3,000 cfs to 7,500 cfs.
That equals 22,442 gallons to 56,104 gallons per second.
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, the grassroots campaign that had long-opposed the Twin Tunnels project, said her organization was disappointed in the state’s decision to announce the notice of preparation.
In a media statement posted on restorethedetla.org Thursday, Barrigan-Parrilla said a tunnel will not resolve drought problems associated with climate change, and will not bring water use and available water into reconciliation, as more of the resource is promised to users than actually exists.
She said water quality issues around pollution, discharge from the San Joaquin River, and the growth of harmful algae blooms in the Delta have not been resolved, and that a tunnel will not protect 4 million people living in the Delta region from potential food threats as a result of climate change.
“We have consistently maintained that regional sustainability projects found in Governor Newsom’s Water Resilience Portfolio should be prioritized to reduce dependence on Delta water exports before moving forward with the tunnel,” she said. “Instead, we have crucial Delta needs once again taking a backseat to a project that Californians do not want — especially on the heels of the Trump water plan.”
Last April, Newsom signed an executive order directing the California Natural Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Food and Agriculture to identify and asses recommended actions that would ensure safe water supplies, flood protection and healthy waterways.
The three agencies compiled those actions — which include the new single-tunnel project — into a Water Resilience Portfolio.
In October, President Donald Trump’s administration unveiled a plan to divert water to California farmers, against the advice of federal biologists who said the proposal would drive endangered salmon closer to extinction and harm other fish species.
The president’s plan involves increasing water flows from federal water projects to corporate agribusiness interests in the San Joaquin Valley.
Newsom’s administration announced in November that it would file a lawsuit to stop Trump’s plan.
Barrigan-Parrilla said in her media statement that the governor’s administration has not yet filed that lawsuit, adding another reason why her organization was disappointed in the state’s announcement of the notice of preparation.
San Joaquin County supervisors also voiced disappointment over the state’s move. Board chairwoman Kathy Miller said the action does nothing to address the goals it is supposed to accomplish.
“This is just more of the same,” Miller said. “We’ve been battling (the tunnel project) for 10 years, and we’re going to keep fighting on behalf of the Delta and the residents of San Joaquin County. I participated in the process of making recommendations to keep our water secure to the governor and his administration, and they’ve ignored all input from everyone. It’s a sham.”
Supervisor Chuck Winn, who represents Lodi and District 4 on the board, said in a media statement released by the county that it was disingenuous of the state to request input from stakeholders who will be impacted by the project, and then ignore their concerns by moving forward.
“Another year was wasted that could have been better spent pursuing more cost-effective, less divisive approaches that reduce reliance on the Delta as required by state law and produce more water, like expanding water supplies, increasing water storage, investing in Delta levees, supporting conservation and promoting greater regional self-reliance,” he said.
Public comments on the notice of preparation are due by 5 p.m. on March 20, and can be submitted to DeltaConveyanceScoping@water.ca .gov, or Delta Conveyance Scoping Comments, Attn: Renee Rodriguez, Department of Water Resources, P.O. Box 942836, Sacramento, Calif., 94236.
Seven public scoping meetings are scheduled to receive written and verbal comments. One of those meetings will be held Feb. 13 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the San Joaquin Council of Governments Board Room, 555 Weber Ave. in Stockton.
For more information about the project’s EIR process, contact Marcus Yee at the DWR at 916-6516736.