After 4 years and $140 million, the Bay Delta Conservation Plan is going to release some kind of document this week, but it won’t answer the central question of the exercise: how do exporters plan to get the amount of water they want while giving fish and habitat the water they need? On Tuesday, the...Read More

Moon and Snow both noted that operating criteria determine how much water you get, regardless of what is built. But Assembly member Yamada and Huffman both made the point that with a large facility come large expectations. And the size of the facility is still unknown. Huffman asked Snow about the meeting that took place...Read More

More Dudley Ridge landowners are selling water rights Last week in the N.Y Times, Felicity Barringer reported on a proposal for two farmers in Dudley Ridge Water District in the southern San Joaquin Valley to sell their water rights  for development at Tejon Ranch.  Selling 2,000 acre-feet annually for $5,850 an acre-foot will net the...Read More

Last week 43 cities, counties, water districts, and associations from all parts of Northern California sent a letter to Karen Scarborough, Undersecretary of the Natural Resources Agency, expressing concerns about the lack of Due Process in consideration of the BDCP plan document scheduled for release November 18. They expressed “foundational concerns” about water rights and...Read More

Petitions have been filed asking the State Water Resources Control board to reconsider its October resolution approving a Basin Plan for the Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins that did not adequately address selenium control in the San Joaquin river basin. Petitions have been filed by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, the California Water Impact...Read More

The Sacramento Bee’s Matt Weiser announced that State officials have reached an agreement that will provide an estimated $188 million over 10 years to restore habitat for imperiled fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Click here for article. DWR and DFG will undertake certain restoration activities to satisfy state and federal environmental laws. State water...Read More

The Delta Stewardship Council met October 28-29 with a full agenda and a weighty packet of supporting documents.  Following are some highlights. According to an Agreement Listing provided in the meeting packet, Ongoing grants for the Delta Science Program (with start dates ranging from 2005 to 2010 and end dates ranging from 2010 to 2012)...Read More

The DSC worked through lunch to hear from Richard Roos-Collins about an item that wasn’t even on the original agenda: the proposed plan for implementing the BDCP.  This involves a BDCP Implementation Office (IO).  Thus yet another layer of Delta governance was slipped in while most of the audience was out to lunch. The BDCP...Read More

The DSC heard from Dr. Richard Norgaard, the new Delta Independent Science Board Chair.  Dr. Norgaard showed an inclination to be . . . well, independent.  He told the DSC that the charge to the Board is immense and expressed concern with the time frame for reviewing White Papers.  He commented on the conflict with...Read More

It will come as no surprise to anyone who has been observing the arrogance of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan’s Potentially Regulated Entities (PREs) that they don’t intend to acquire land for habitat restoration using willing sellers. Restore the Delta has learned that the BDCP is looking at eminent domain as the process to achieve...Read More