[env-trinity] California Water Action Plan Greenwashes Water Grab

[Dan Bacher]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/31/1252102/-State-Releases- 
Water-Action-Plan

California Water Action Plan Greenwashes Water Grab

by Dan Bacher

State officials today released the California Water Action Plan, an  
obvious attempt by the Brown administration to win support for  
construction of the peripheral tunnels by proposing water  
conservation and river restoration measures to greenwash the highly- 
unpopular Bay Delta Conservation Plan.

The California Natural Resources Agency, the California Environmental  
Protection Agency and the California Department of Food and  
Agriculture describe the document as a "detailed draft action plan to  
help guide state efforts and resources on one of California’s most  
important resources, water."

"The California Water Action Plan will focus on the reliability of  
our water supply, the needed ecosystem restoration to bring our water  
system back into balance, and the resilience of our infrastructure,"  
according to a joint statement from the agencies.

In May, Governor Jerry Brown directed the agencies to identify "key  
actions" for the next one to five years that address urgent needs and  
provide the foundation for sustainable management of California’s  
water resources. It is anticipated that a final form of the plan will  
be released in early December.

“Over a century ago, California leaders began the development of one  
of the most complex water systems in the world,” gushed Secretary for  
Natural Resources John Laird. “Now, with 38 million people and the  
threat of climate change, we more fully understand the need to strike  
a balance with the environment. This comprehensive water blueprint  
for the future will help us find that balance and address long  
standing water issues in California.”

A preliminary review of the document indicates it is an thinly-veiled  
attempt to greenwash the destruction of Sacramento River salmon and  
Delta fish populations by promoting the twin tunnels as the  
"solution" to achieving the "coequal goals" of "water supply  
reliability" and "ecosystem restoration." The administration  
continues to push this $54.1 billion boondoggle even when all of the  
science indicates that the construction of the tunnels would hasten  
the extinction of the Central Valley Chinook salmon, steelhead, Delta  
smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other species while  
imperiling salmon and steelhead populations on the Trinity and  
Klamath rivers.

The Delta section of the document (http://resources.ca.gov/docs/ 
Final_Water_Action_Plan.pdf) is based largely upon the completion of  
the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to build the peripheral tunnels, an  
environmentally destructive project opposed by fishermen,  
environmentalists, Indian Tribes, family farmers, Delta residents and  
the majority of Californians.

According to page 10 of the document, "State and federal agencies  
will complete planning for a comprehensive conservation strategy  
aimed at protecting dozens of species of fish and wildlife in the  
Delta, while permitting the reliable operation of California's two  
biggest water delivery projects. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan  
(BDCP) would help secure California’s water supply by building new  
water delivery infrastructure and operating the system to improve the  
ecological health of the Delta. It would also restore or protect  
approximately 145,000 acres of habitat to address the Delta’s  
environmental challenges."

Of course, to garner support for the twin tunnel boondoggle, the  
Brown administration is trying to "sweeten the pot" by throwing in  
some good goals like Klamath River restoration, Salton Sea  
restoration, water conservation and "reducing reliance" on the Bay  
Delta Ecosystem.

The plan focuses on ten key actions:
· Make Conservation a California Way of Life
· Increase Local and Regional Self-Reliance
· Achieve Co-Equal Goals for the Delta
· Protect and Restore Important Ecosystems
· Manage and Prepare for Dry Periods
· Expand Water Storage Capacity
· Provide Safe Drinking Water for All Communities
· Improve Flood Protection
· Increase Operational and Regulatory Efficiency
· Identify Sustainable and Integrated Financing Opportunities

Many of these goals are noble ones, in my opinion. However, I believe  
that the administration is supporting these conservation and  
restoration measures in an effort to buy off and co-opt environmental  
NGOs, fishing groups, Indian Tribes and politicians who would  
otherwise be opposed to the construction of the tunnels.

Restore the Delta, opponents of the peripheral tunnels, responded to  
the release of the draft plan by calling it an effort to "greenwash  
the water grab."

Restore the Delta Executive Director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla said,  
“The Brown Administration is deliberately tying together the policies  
that Restore the Delta and the broader environmental community  
support for regional water self- sufficiency to the construction of  
the peripheral tunnels in order to greenwash the water grab."

"As economist Dr. Jeffrey Michael from the University of the Pacific  
has noted, if we move toward a sustainable water policy through the  
creation of regional projects, the economic benefit for constructing  
the tunnels disappears," she said. "The Resources Agency gave the  
Kern County Water Agency and the Westlands Water District cover this  
morning by overstating the economic importance of agriculture to the  
State (Westlands and Kern contribute less than .3% to the State’s  
GDP). Governor Brown is more than willing to craft the State’s water  
plan in such a way as to accommodate the unreasonable desires  of  
these water takers who want to transform their agencies into water  
brokers."

"While we welcome a State effort to make conservation a way of life,  
to improve regional water self-reliance, to improve flood protection,  
and to provide drinking water for all communities, Water Bond  
campaign expert Joe Caves’ recent polling shows the proposed water  
bond would fail due to lack of support for the Bay Delta Conservation  
Plan. The Governor’s delegates from the Office of Planning and  
Research are beginning to hold conversations with water leaders  
throughout the State, except that Delta water experts will not be  
included in the conversations," she emphasized.

“As indicated in a recently crafted document by the Kern County Water  
Agency, water contractors are seeking answers as to whether they will  
be able to transfer BDCP water out of their agency, and how much of  
the project will be subsidized by the State and Federal Governments.  
This points out that those behind the BDCP intend to resell water  
from this project while relying on taxpayer subsidies for delivery of  
that water," Barrigan-Parrilla concluded.

For more information and action alerts, go to www.restorethedelta.org.
  
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