FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 10, 2024
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Alexandra Nagy, alexandra@sunstonestrategies.org
Leela Yadav, leela@sunstonestrategies.org
Sacramento, Calif. – Today, the Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition (DTEC), represented by the Environmental Justice Law and Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School, together with the California Indian Environmental Alliance, San Francisco Baykeeper, and Golden State Salmon Association, submitted a formal statement with the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) highlighting fundamental flaws with the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) hearings.
These hearings concern petitions submitted by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) in February 2024 asking the State Water Board to modify water rights permits issued in 1972, allowing DWR to use them now to construct and operate the DCP. In August, DWR also quietly added a request to extend the construction deadline for water storage and conveyance facilities under those permits by fifty-five years, from 2000 to 2055.
The statement by DTEC and its allies draws focus to DWR’s request for special treatment as the permits DWR is requesting to use for the DCP expired decades ago and cannot be resurrected. The group calls on the State Water Board to hold DWR to the same policies and processes as other water users, requiring them to submit an application for a new water right – allowing the public to provide comment and the State Water Board to sufficiently analyze whether there is sufficient water available for this unprecedented water export project.
The DCP is a proposed 40-foot-wide underground tunnel with the capacity to siphon 6,000 cubic feet per second of water—the equivalent of roughly 245 Olympic swimming pools every hour—from the North Delta, sending it directly to water users in the Central Valley.
Meanwhile, the State Water Board’s continued delay in updating water quality standards is worsening conditions in the Bay-Delta. The DCP would reduce flows to even more dangerously low levels, adding another chapter to the state’s history of trammeling on the rights of Delta Tribes, overlooking the interests of disadvantaged communities, and sacrificing the ecological integrity of the Bay-Delta for the profits of Big Ag. The State Water Board remains under investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for discriminating against Delta Tribes and disadvantaged communities in its mismanagement of Bay-Delta water quality controls.
The coalition urges the State Water Board to reject DWR’s petitions and require the completion of the Bay-Delta Plan and the conclusion of EPA’s investigations into Board discrimination before taking further action. A broad group of Bay-Delta cities and counties, environmental organizations, and other stakeholders have submitted statements to the State Water Board expressing similar concerns with the DCP proceedings. The State Water Board hearings office will consider the statements at a pre-hearing conference on October 17.
Statement from Naji Thompson, certified student attorney with the Yale Environmental Justice Law and Advocacy Clinic:
“Before considering the merits of DWR’s flawed requests, the Board must first resolve critical threshold questions about its jurisdiction and the rights and interests of Bay-Delta Tribes and communities. It is essential that the Board rejects DWR’s attempts to sidestep procedural safeguards, which are designed to protect the voices of those who will be forced to live with the long-term impacts of the DCP’s construction and operations for generations to come.”
Statement from Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair for the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians:
“While tribes continue to be impacted by unhealthy rivers and watersheds, the Department of Water Resources is trying to rush forward with a tunnel project that would divert more water out of our rivers and Delta eco-cultural systems. We need a transparent and fair process that prioritizes our tribes, our rivers, and cultural landscapes. We should not allow DWR to play by a different set of rules that further harms us.”
Statement from Gary Mulcahy, Government Liaison for the Winnemem Wintu Tribe:
“As the Tribe has stated before, the Department of Water Resources attempt to extend expired water rights permits by a significant 55 years is unlawful. DWR has wasted public money now for 24 years on the basis of an expired permit and a version of a zombie project rejected by the public since 1982. DWR can no longer skirt the law and must go through the actual process of filing for a new water right permit.”
Statement from Gloria Alonso Cruz, Environmental Justice Advocacy Coordinator for Little Manila Rising
“Approval of DWR’s petition will force historically marginalized Bay-Delta communities to continue to endure generations of ecosystem disruption, an unjustifiable act and proceeds to neglect the voices of Tribal and marginalized communities. The State Water Board has the authority to hold DWR accountable and prioritize protections for communities and the Bay-Delta environment.”
Statement from Cintia Cortez, Policy Manager for Restore the Delta
“DWR is requesting the Board bypass proper review to extend expired permits without standing. Yet, it’s been two years since Delta communities, that continue to live with degraded waterways and toxic algae, requested relief from the state. By continuing this process, the Board prioritizes serving special interests and gives DWR cover to please the Governor.”
Statement from Eric Buescher, Managing Attorney for the San Francisco Bay Keeper:
“The State Board’s processes matter. How the Board handles this water rights proceeding will have impacts on the ecosystems and people who depend on a healthy San Francisco Bay, Delta, and watershed. The State Board needs to act fairly, justly, and quickly to address the crisis in the Delta before it considers whether to grant DWR the authority to further degrade conditions throughout the watershed over the next five decades.”
Statement from Scott Artis, Executive Director for the Golden State Salmon Association
“Extending water permits for 55 years isn’t a ‘minor change’—it’s a major blow to California’s already struggling salmon populations. The Delta Conveyance Project will devastate the fishing industry and Bay-Delta watershed that communities and tens of thousands of people and businesses rely on, all while bending the rules for big water interests.”
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