[env-trinity] Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force Praised by Steering Committee Member

[Spreck Rosekrans]

 <http://www.vocus.com/images/pr/ED_newsreleaseblue.jpg> 

 

 

Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force Praised by Steering Committee Member


 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact: 

Laura Harnish, 510-290-5794 (cell) lharnish at environmentaldefense.org
<mailto:lharnish at environmentaldefense.org>  

Spreck Rosekrans, 415-293-6050 or  510-393 4593 (cell)
srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org
<mailto:srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org>    

Jesus Mena, 415-293-6097 or 415-948-4220 (cell)
jemena at environmentaldefense.org <mailto:jemena at environmentaldefense.org>


 

(San Francisco - December 17, 2007) Governor Schwarzenegger's Delta
Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force has taken a giant step forward today by
highlighting both the estuary's immediate and long-term priorities and
the need to establish an independent governance structure to manage the
state's water supplies while protecting the Delta itself.  That's the
conclusion of a leading environmental group that is a member of the
Bay-Delta Conservation Plan steering committee, which is developing a
long term plan in 2008 to protect and restore the Delta ecosystem while
providing reliable water supply to California's farms and cities.

 

"We applaud the Task Force's work, especially for acknowledging the
irrefutable fact that water diversions are a major cause of the
environmental collapse in the Delta and the recommendation that a
revitalized Delta ecosystem will require a reduction in diversions,"
said Laura Harnish, Deputy Regional Director for Environmental Defense.
"It will be essential to create a governance structure that integrates
water supply decisions with the requirements of the Delta ecosystem. We
look forward to working with the Task Force as it develops its
implementation plan." 

 

Harnish said the most difficult task will be developing a comprehensive
and fiscally responsible finance plan that protects public resources,
while ensuring that stakeholders pay for the water supply benefits they
receive. The next step for the Task Force is to develop an
implementation plan, due to be completed in October 2008, which is
expected to contain detailed recommendations for both governance and
finance.

 

The Delta is the largest estuary on the west coast and is home to more
than 750 animal and plant species, including some that are listed for
protection under the federal and state Endangered Species Acts. As much
as 15% of California's total municipal and agricultural water supply
passes through the Delta. The Delta's environment and communities, as
well as the state's water supply system, are threatened by the Delta's
notoriously weak levee system. The Task Force report lays out 12
"integrated and linked recommendations" and seven "near-term actions" as
part of a restoration plan that may take a decade or more to complete. 

 

"The Task Force has identified near-term actions that are broadly
supported and urgently needed," said Spreck Rosekrans, senior analyst
for Environmental Defense. "These critical actions include repairing our
most vulnerable levees to prevent a New Orleans-type catastrophe in the
Delta and restoring habitat for fish, including endangered species, and
wildlife.

 

"The longer term recommendations related to conveyance alternatives and
additional storage will require serious study," continued Rosekrans. "At
this point, we know neither who would benefit from and pay for the
proposed projects, nor how their operating guidelines would ensure that
the environment would be protected from further harm. Discussing these
essential parameters within a stakeholder forum is far preferable to
making a commitment to build the projects through a bond proposal and
arguing about the parameters later."

 

###

 

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Defense has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector
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environmental problems.  www.environmentaldefense.org
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