While Bay Delta Conservation Plan consultants have been telling the general public what is in the Administrative Draft of the BDCP HCP – habitat conservation plan documents (the tunnels plus “other” conservation measures, along with potential funding, costs/benefits to the exporters, and so on), state and federal agencies have been studying the 18,000 page Administrative Draft of the BDCP environmental documents.
What’s the difference?
Well, if BDCP doesn’t pass muster from an environmental standpoint –if the state and federal fisheries agencies don’t think it warrants 50-year take permits – then the whole project is a “no go.” And so far, it doesn’t pass muster.
Some alphabet soup: We’re talking here about the state Environmental Impact Report (EIR) required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and the federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).