[env-trinity] Shasta Supervisors oppose water reallocation

[Tom Stokely]

Supervisors oppose water reallocation
By Kimberly Ross (Contact)
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 



http://www.redding.com/news/2008/aug/20/supervisors-oppose-water-reallocation/
Shasta County supervisors passed a lean annual budget Tuesday and agreed to voice opposition to the controversial Delta Vision plan -- which could deny north state water rights to quench Southern Californians' thirst.

The Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to send a letter to the chairman of the plan's Blue Ribbon Task Force, with Supervisor Mark Cibula repeatedly questioning whether the county's four-page letter was worded strongly enough.

He stressed Shasta County's responsibility to protect the north state's enormous water supply from Lake Shasta and Whiskeytown Lake, both for local water users and those in neighboring counties.

"This is one of the most important things we will do," he said.

Supervisor Les Baugh defended the letter's strength, pointing out the start of one of his favorite lines:

"We cannot be more vehemently opposed to this preemption of local government authority. The reason why many counties adopted ordinances to regulate groundwater exports was due to real or perceived failures on the part of the state to manage these problems adequately," it says.

Supervisor David Kehoe abstained from the vote, saying he agreed with many of the letter's concepts, but wanted more information and public comment. Kehoe successfully requested that the board hold a workshop to further discuss the Delta Vision’s implications.

The workshop is tentatively set for Sept. 23 or later, Shasta County Administrative Officer Larry Lees said Tuesday afternoon.

Cibula voted yes on the proposed letter with the understanding that more letters could be sent after the workshop, and visits with state representatives should be planned, he said.

The Delta Vision Strategic Plan aims to fix the poorly functioning Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the west coast’s largest estuary, Public Works Director Pat Minturn told the board. The peat bog’s weak levees are vulnerable to storms and earthquakes, yet they serve as part of a water conveyance system for 23 million Californians, Minturn wrote in a staff report.

However, the plan by the Blue Ribbon Task Force, formed by Gov. Schwarzenegger, “would trump local and regional controls,” including the county’s Groundwater Management Ordinance, Minturn wrote.

The county’s letter opposes the plan to grant the California Delta Ecosystem and Water Council the authority to affect areas outside the delta or to supercede existing water rights. Additionally, it opposes the idea that water would not be purchased, but provided based on “constitutional principles of reasonable use and public trust,” as described in the plan.

Depleting upstream water systems is another concern, the letter states. While understanding that water supplies must be increased, “efforts to reduce the demand for water must equally be advanced,” the letter says.

The board’s letter was drafted in conjunction with Tehama, Butte, Colusa and Glenn counties and based on the Northern California Water Association’s concerns. Voting on it Tuesday means it will be received before the governor’s Oct. 31 deadline for the task force’s management plan.

Reporter Kimberly Ross can be reached at 225-8339 or at kross at redding.com.
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