[env-trinity] Interior Department Press Release from December

[Byron Leydecker]

This is from December 22, but I had not seen it previously.  Looks like more
of the same to me.

 

Byron

 

DOI press release 


Date: December 22, 2009
Contact: Kendra Barkoff 
202-208-6416 


Obama Administration Officials Release Interim Federal Action Plan for Water
Crisis in California Bay-Delta 


WASHINGTON, D.C. - 
The Obama Administration today released a coordinated interim action plan to
address the water crisis in California. In accordance with a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) signed by six federal agencies at the end of September,
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Chair Nancy Sutley of the White
House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) joined the Department of
Commerce, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of the Army
and the Department of Agriculture to release a list of actions being taken
by the six federal agencies. 

"The California water crisis is a full-blown crisis that requires all hands
on deck to help those who are suffering.  We are moving aggressively to do
our part to address the urgent need to provide reliable water supplies for
25 million Californians, while also protecting the Bay-Delta ecosystem upon
which the supplies depend," Secretary Salazar said. "Everything we do will
be done in close partnership with the State of California and will build
upon the path-breaking legislation recently enacted by the State." 

"The Obama Administration is committed to robust reengagement in restoring
the Bay-Delta ecosystem and addressing California's water needs," said Nancy
Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.  "The
actions that Federal agencies announce today will have real, on-the-ground
impacts in 2010 and will complement the State of California's ongoing
response." 

The coordinated federal action plan will: 

. strengthen the federal government's coordination of actions with the state
- especially its commitment to more fully engage federal agencies in the Bay
Delta Conservation Plan, the most significant effort currently underway to
address critical long-term water issues in California. 

.  help to meet water needs through actions that promote smarter water
supply and use such as constructing projects that increase flexibility in
the water supply system; enhancing water transfers; ensuring that the best
science is applied to water supply decisions;  and intensifying and aligning
Federal water conservation efforts with those of the state.   

. help ensure healthy ecosystems and improved water quality through
independent reviews of key scientific questions, including a review of all
factors that are contributing to the decline of the Bay-Delta ecosystem;
investigation and mitigation of other stressors affecting water quality in
the Bay-Delta and impacts to its imperiled species; advancing ecosystem
restoration projects, including near-term habitat projects in the Bay-Delta;
accelerating the  restoration and propagation of Delta smelt and other
aquatic species; continuing construction of fish screens; and addressing
climate change impacts on the Bay-Delta. 

. call for agencies to help deliver drought relief services and ensure
integrated flood risk management, including the prioritization of  projects
and activities for flood risk management and related levee stabilization
projects and navigation. 

Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes today noted that the federal
officials reviewed and considered public comments in preparing this interim
plan.  "This plan was produced on an expedited basis due to the crisis, and
it will remain a living document that is updated and revised on a
going-forward basis." 

The federal agencies will now begin to implement the actions contained in
this plan, working in close partnership with the State of California to
advance their shared priorities. 

To view the draft plan, go here:
http://www.doi.gov/documents/CAWaterWorkPlan.pdf 
. 

 

 

Byron Leydecker, JcT

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 land/fax (call first to fax)

415 519 4810 mobile

 <mailto:bwl3 at comcast.net> bwl3 at comcast.net

 <mailto:bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org> bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org
(secondary)

 <http://fotr.org/> http://www.fotr.org 

 

 

 

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