Following two days of public comments opposing the proposal, the State Water Board approved Governor Newsom’s updated Bay-Delta Plan centering voluntary agreements.
As the Los Angeles Times reports, environmental and Tribal representatives condemned the exclusionary framework and lack of transparency surrounding the decision-making process. They criticized “what they described as backroom deals intended to help powerful water suppliers and farming companies” at the expense of the already fragile Delta Estuary and California taxpayers.
The State Water Board’s decision came despite widespread public opposition and limited public access to information. State agencies used confidentiality agreements to restrict access to scientific data and discussions central to the plan’s development. As Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Vice Chair Malissa Tayaba told the board members: “You are on the wrong side of history, and we will prevail.”
The likely next governor of California, Xavier Becerra, will be left to clean up the mess. Implementation of the widely criticized plan faces further uncertainty as the federal government threatens to withdraw from the plan, taking several hundred million dollars in funding with it. As Becerra prepares for the upcoming election and a possible transition into office, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that “environmentalists, tribes and fishing groups have said they will urge him to prevent the Bay Delta Plan from moving forward.”
Read more coverage of the decision below:
- COMMENTARY: Reject the discriminatory, illegitimate, and harmful Voluntary Agreements. Maven’s Notebook.
- RESTORE THE DELTA: Tribes and environmental groups slam State Water Board’s anticipated adoption of updated Bay-Delta Plan, vow further action. Maven’s Notebook.
- Fierce debate as California changes course in central water hub. The Los Angeles Times.
- Has the Trump administration doomed Newsom’s water plan?. CalMatters.
- California regulators adopt major overhaul to state water policy, drawing critics. The San Francisco Chronicle.
- California approves sweeping Bay-Delta water plan as environmentalists push back. Courthouse News Service.
- Newsom races to lock in his water legacy. POLITICO.
