[env-trinity] Will drought relief money be used to support overpumping Delta water?

[Dan Bacher]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/11/1363800/-Will-drought-relief-money-be-used-to-support-overpumping-Delta-water

Will drought relief money be used to support overpumping Delta water?

by Dan Bacher

Sacramento - Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced at a  
press conference on Friday, February 6, that the Bureau of Reclamation  
is making $50 million in funds available immediately for controversial  
"drought relief" projects throughout the West —including nearly $20  
million for California’s Central Valley Project (CVP).

The announcement drew criticism from Delta Tunnels opponents, who  
questioned whether $5.37 million in federal funds for alleged “Delta  
needs” will support the overpumping of Delta water that threatens  
Central Valley salmon and other fish species with extinction.

Jewell claimed the "funding will help stretch water supplies in  
California’s Central Valley and throughout West during time of  
historic drought."

“California’s ongoing drought is wreaking havoc on farmers,  
ranchers, municipalities, tribes and the environment,” said Secretary  
Jewell. “With climate change, droughts are projected to become more  
intense and frequent in many parts of the West, so we need to pursue  
every measure to provide relief and support to communities who are  
feeling the impacts.”

“Today’s funding will help boost immediate and long-term efforts to  
improve water efficiencies and increase resilience in high-risk  
communities, including in California’s Central Valley,” claimed  
Jewell. “I appreciate the support of Congress, especially that of  
Senator Feinstein and the California delegation, in helping make these  
much needed funds available."

Secretary Jewell made the announcement after a meeting with Governor  
Jerry Brown to discuss the Obama Administration’s "all-in"approach to  
the drought in California. These efforts include "strategic  
investments in science and monitoring, operational flexibility to help  
manage limited water supplies and other efforts to ensure that public  
health and safety are not compromised."

"This important investment will help us improve how we save and move  
water, while continuing to protect sensitive habitat and wildlife,"  
claimed Governor Brown, who continues to support the expansion of  
fracking in California and the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to build  
the peripheral tunnels, the most environmentally destructive public  
works project in California history. "Even with recent storms, we have  
a long, dry trek ahead and a close partnership with the federal  
government is crucial."

The $50 million for Western Drought Response was made available  
through the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of  
2015, according to  Secretary Jewell's office. The funding enables  
Reclamation to "work with water districts and other water users to  
increase efficiency and conservation of available water." Highlights  
include:

• $19.9 million for California’s Central Valley Project. This  
includes: $5.37 million for Delta needs, including drought monitoring  
for endangered species and mechanisms to increase flexibility in water  
operations; $2.38 million for the Friant-Kern Canal Reverse Flow  
Pumping Project to bank groundwater for the southern portion of the  
Friant Division; $3.65 million for Water and Power Operations to  
facilitate water transfers in the summer months; $1 million to  
continue the Battle Creek habitat conservation work; $1.5 million to  
support the Livingston Stone Hatchery; and $6 million for refuges,  
including acquisition, conveyance and diversification of water supplies.


• $9 million for WaterSMART and Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse  
Program grants. The competitive grants programs support water  
conservation initiatives and technological breakthroughs that promote  
water reuse, recycling and conservation in partnership with states,  
tribes and other partners.

• $5 million for Drought Response and Comprehensive Drought Plans.  
This new program is helping states, tribes and local governments  
prepare for and address drought in advance of a crisis with 50/50  
percent federal/non-federal funding.


• $8.6 million for the Lower Colorado River Basin Drought Response  
Action Plan. Funding will be used to generate up to 10,000 acre-feet  
of water annually in the Colorado River system storage.

In addition to the Western Drought Response funding, Reclamation is  
also dedicating an additional $8.8 million for the Central Valley  
Project made available through the Act. "The funding will support  
operations and maintenance, fish passage and fish screens and  
supplement the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) water  
conservation partnerships to improve efficiency of agricultural water  
use in the state," according to Interior.

Restore the Delta (RTD), opponents of Governor Jerry Brown’s rush to  
build Twin Tunnels that would drain the Delta and doom salmon and  
other Pacific fisheries, responded to U.S. Interior Secretary Sally  
Jewell’s Friday announcement by questioning whether $5.37 million  
earmarked for "Delta needs" will actually be used to drive Central  
Valley salmon and other fish closer to extinction.

"Secretary Jewell's announcement mentions that $5.37 million will be  
available for Delta needs for drought monitoring of endangered  
species, and to increase flexibility in water operations,” said  
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta.  
“What we fear is that this spending plan will translate into funding  
to manage the system so that the greatest amount of water is exported  
to big agribusiness growers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley."

"We are on the verge of losing Delta smelt; and salmon are at great  
risk during this drought," said Barrigan-Parrilla. "Where is the  
concern about water quality for our fisheries and for the farms and  
municipalities of the Delta?"

She also asked, "When is Secretary Jewell going to meet with the  
protectors of the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary?"

For more information, go to: www.restorethedelta.org

On February 2, President Obama released his proposed budget for fiscal  
year 2015 that  includes $37 million for "Bay-Delta Restoration to  
develop a  comprehensive long-term plan to achieve the co-equal goals  
for securing California’s water supply and restoring the Sacramento- 
San Joaquin Delta ecosystem" -  in other words, the Bay Delta  
Conservation Plan to build the twin tunnels.

Obama's budget also includes:

• $89 million for Interior’s WaterSMART program, which promotes  
water conservation initiatives.


• $123 million for the Central Valley Project to fund operations,  
management and improvements within the project, as well as for the  
Trinity River Restoration Program.

• $35 million for the San Joaquin River Restoration Program to  
restore and maintain fish populations along the river, and improve  
water management to avoid impacts to supplies for water contractors.

For more information: http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/secretary-jewell-announces-50-million-for-western-drought-response.cfm

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