California regulators are backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, and support controversial plans against environmental groups.
The Newsom-backed approach is included as part of the proposed water plan for the Sacramento San Joaquin River Delta, released by the state’s Water Resources Management Board on Thursday.
The plan is either a traditional regulatory approach based on limiting water withdrawals to maintain specific river flow levels to two potential routes to adhere to water quality goals, or an alternative approach supported by governors who contribute to water flow commitments while funding wetland habitat restoration projects while water agencies make specific water flow commitments under negotiated agreements.
The proposed plan aims to protect native fish species and ecosystems through water quality standards and flow targets for Delta Bay and San Francisco Bay.
Major water agencies line up to support these so-called voluntary agreements. This is touted by Newsom and his administration as a solution to break away from traditional conflict-filled regulatory approaches and improve the ecological health of the Delta.
The plan was called “evidence of California’s commitment to a collaborative, science-driven approach to managing water for the benefit of the community, the economy, and fish and wildlife.”
The proposed plan, developed by staff at state agencies, goes through a public comment process and ultimately advances to the five-member state water committee for decisions on adoption. Members of the board are appointed by the governor.
Environmental and Fisheries groups, like delta community leaders, argue that voluntary approaches harm the estuary’s worsening ecosystems and fish species suffering dramatic declines.
The Delta gathers rivers from the vast basin and flows towards San Francisco Bay. On the south side of the Delta, state and federally operated pumps send water flowing to cities and farms.
State Waterboard Executive Director Eric Oppenheimer said the proposed update to the water quality plan would “improve fish and wildlife conditions through a combination of flow and habitat measurements, taking into account the needs of cities, towns and farms.”
Oppenheimer noted that the state’s water committee will track the agency’s commitment under the voluntary agreement.
Based on the draft plan, state officials will consider the voluntary agreement in eight years to determine whether it needs to be extended, revised or terminated. If the board determines that a voluntary agreement does not achieve the desired outcome, it may decide to return the water agency to a traditional regulatory approach.
“We included a voluntary contract route because we believe there is a benefit to a voluntary agreement,” Oppenheimer told reporters during the briefing. “The fundamental concept behind these voluntary agreements believe that by combining both flow and habitat, significant ecosystem improvements can be achieved, and we believe that the impact on water supply can be reduced.”
Oppenheimer said state officials believe the approach will “produce sophisticated cooperation and buy-in from water users.”
Environmental and Fisheries groups condemned the agency’s proposed voluntary agreement as backroom deals were struck without feedback from native tribes, Delta communities, or conservation advocates. They say the agreement is intended to set up a major additional water detour phase, as it cannot protect existing flows.
Newsom and his administration are pushing forward with the proposed delta hauling project, looking to build a 45-mile water tunnel under the delta and are moving forward with plans to build the site reservoir, the state’s first new main reservoir, in the valley north of Sacramento.
Ashley Overhaus, water policy advisor for the Wildlife Environmental Group Defender, said he is very concerned about the state commission’s approach.
“This is just the latest attempt by the newspaper administration to promote inadequate and unfair voluntary agreements that undermine the minimum protection of naked bodies,” Overhaus said. “The proposal to reduce the delta of freshwater flows between wet and dry years is devastating for the overall health of the species and estuary.”
Overhouse and other environmental advocates argue that voluntary deals hit by major water suppliers are disastrous for endangered fish, including salmon, steelhead, green sturgeon, longfin confectionery and delta confectionery. They are seeking stricter flow requirements to help population recovery.
This year, the population of Chinook salmon was so low that regulators closed commercial coastal fishing for the third year in a row, but limited recreational fishing was permitted.
“We’re looking forward to seeing you in the fishing community,” said Scott Altis, executive director of Golden State Salmon Asun, a nonprofit representing the fishing community.
Artis said the voluntary approach will exacerbate the delta’s environmental crisis and set the stage for “a more damaging detour by a massive delta tunnel.”
His group has also criticised the $2.9 billion proposed funding needed to carry out the contract. The group calls it “shell games” and “taxpayer rags.”
Updates to Bay-Delta’s water quality management plan have been underway for many years. In 1995, a final significant change in water quality and flow requirements was adopted in many of the basin. In 2018, the state water committee announced new standards to increase the flow of the San Joaquin River.
Pending updates will set rules for the Sacramento River Basin and the remaining delta.
The state’s Water Resources Management Board is scheduled to hold a hearing on the draft plan from September 8th to 9th, and will accept written comments until September 10th. There is no date for decisions made by the Board.
The proposal also calls for the establishment of “beneficial uses” for water tribes, recognizing the relationship between native tribes and fish populations. There are over 100 tribes in the Baydelta basin. State officials say the designation does not guarantee a certain amount of water for the tribe, and will ensure that cultural water use, including fish species, is protected under the plan.
State Secretary of Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot said the approach outlined under the plan would “improve river health by restoring river flow and revitalizing habitat.”
Newsom said he proposed legislation to create exemptions under the California Environmental Quality Act for all such water quality plans. The governor said this “accelerates the time it takes to complete these critical plans by removing unnecessary and redundant process requirements.”
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