Contact:
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, 209-479-2053, barbara@restorethedelta.org
Randy Reck, 916-432-3529, randy@ejcw.org
Nora Kovaleski, 408-806-6470, nora@kovaleskipr.com
Delta and Environmental Justice Coalition:
Delta Plan Amendments Miss the Boat
Sacramento, CA – On April 18, Restore the Delta and The Environmental Justice Coalition for Water sent a joint letter in opposition to the Delta Stewardship Council’s proposed amendments for surface storage, conveyance, and performance measures to the Delta Plan.
The amendments lack a true needs assessment for CA WaterFix, a water supply analysis, a cost-benefits analysis, and failure to consider environmental justice, anti-discrimination, and human right to water issues in their planning and scientific documents within the Delta Plan.
EJCW Staff Attorney Randy Reck said, “The proposed Delta Plan amendments are the latest iteration of a Delta planning process that continues to marginalize the very environmental justice and Tribal communities who bear a disproportionate burden—both environmental and financial—of over-reliance on the Delta. EJCW formed eighteen years ago in response to similar exclusionary tactics employed in the CALFED process. While significant advances have been made in state policy on environmental justice since then, including the Human Right to Water policy, Delta communities continue to be overlooked by a process that doesn’t even pretend to include them. EJCW calls on the DSC to abide by existing environmental justice policies and the values that underlie them, including transparency, collaboration, equity, and opportunity.”
The language of these documents becomes even more problematic via the use of the word “promote” in reference to CA WaterFix.
“The Council puts the cart before the horse with its proposed Delta Plan language promoting the Delta Tunnels project,” said Restore the Delta’s Policy Analyst, Tim Stroshane. “They will become both promoter and regulator of the Tunnels and other dam projects if they approve this amendment. It is farcical.”
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta said, “The Delta Plan Amendments, as proposed by the Delta Stewardship Council, ignore large portions of the Delta Reform Act that deal with Delta stewardship and promote the construction of the Delta Tunnels. In addition, these revised amendments and the Delta Plan in its entirety fail to identify and evaluate the impacts of new conveyance on the Delta environmental justice community. The Council, unfortunately, is continuing to push through boondoggle tunnels that will benefit special interest water districts at the expense of the Delta — the ecosystem and communities that they are to protect, restore and enhance.”
DSC Council Meets Next Week
On Friday, April 28, 2017 at 9 a.m., the Delta Stewardship Council will meet at the Park Tower Plaza, 980 Ninth Street, Sacramento, 2nd Floor Conference Room to discuss their proposed Delta Plan amendments. Authors of the coalition letter and Delta activists will attend.