[env-trinity] Times Standard- Supes to discuss state's new water tunnel project; Trinity River concerns raised as plan moves forward

[Tom Stokely]

http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_21502568/supes-discuss-states-new-water-tunnel-project-trinity 

Supes to discuss state's new water tunnel project; Trinity River concerns raised as plan moves forward
Megan Hansen/The Times-Standard Eureka Times Standard
Created:
Times-Standard.com
The role the Trinity River plays in a controversial state and federal plan to transport water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to Southern California will be discussed at Tuesday's meeting of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors.

After six proclamations and recognition items, the board will take up the new Bay Delta Conservation Plan at 10 a.m. Gov. Jerry Brown and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the plan in July. The plan aims to provide a more reliable water supply to Southern California, while also implementing a 50-year Delta restoration program to protect fish and wildlife.

The plan proposes two parallel tunnels, each 33 feet in diameter, to draw water from the Sacramento River and divert it around the Delta, according to a Humboldt County staff report. The water would be diverted about 37 miles to facilities near Tracy for delivery to Southern California.

Humboldt County Senior Environmental Analyst Jill Duffy, a former county supervisor, is making a presentation to the board Tuesday about the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. She said there are concerns about the possibility for increased diversions from the Trinity River as the plan moves forward.

The Trinity River is the Klamath River's largest tributary. The county, along with various Native American tribes and environmental groups, has been trying to increase and maintain the Klamath's flows for decades. Commercial, tribal and recreational fishermen have said keeping the Klamath healthy and robust is essential to their trade, as the river typically hosts large runs of salmon each fall.

Duffy said the plan doesn't address Humboldt County's needs. It doesn't specifically recognize the June 19, 1959, contract signed by the county and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that mandates the government release sufficient water from the Trinity River so that not less than 50,000 acre-feet is available each year for downstream users like Humboldt County. In addition, Duffy said, the plan doesn't address the Trinity River Division Act -- passed by Congress on Aug. 12, 1955 -- in which Humboldt County is named a party of interest.

She said the 1959 water allocation contract is unresolved, as the county hasn't always received the 50,000 acre-feet of water it was promised -- thus it hasn't been included in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan's modeling assumptions. The county has asked multiple times that Salazar and the Bureau of Reclamation make that water available, according to the county report.

Duffy said the supervisors need to take a stance on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.

”It's an important opportunity for Humboldt County to assert its rights,” Duffy said.

The supervisors are being asked by county staff to take a stance on the plan and its water rights by way of a resolution that will be sent to Brown, Salazar, Congressman Mike Thompson, Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro, Sen. Noreen Evans, the Hoopa Valley Tribe and Yurok Tribe.

For the complete Board of Supervisors meeting agenda and supporting documents, go online to www.co.humboldt.ca.us/board/agenda/questys/.

IF YOU GO:

What: Board of Supervisors meeting

Where: Supervisors' Chamber, first floor, Humboldt County Courthouse, 825 Fifth St.

When: 9 a.m. Tuesday

Megan Hansen can be reached at 441-0511 or mhansen at times-standard.com.
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