[env-trinity] Happy Holidays! State and Feds will release EIS for Delta Tunnels plan tomorrow

[Dan Bacher]

http://fishsniffer.com/index.php/2016/12/21/state-and-feds-will-release-eis-for-delta-tunnels-plan-tomorrow/

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/12/21/1613445/-State-and-Feds-will-release-EIS-for-Delta-Tunnels-plan-tomorrow




Photo: The American River below Nimbus Dam on December 16. The  
American, a tributary of the  Sacramento, is one of many rivers and  
streams imperiled by Governor Jerry Brown's Delta Tunnels proposal.  
Photo by Dan Bacher.

State and Feds will release EIS for Delta Tunnels plan tomorrow

by Dan Bacher

Just in time for the Holidays, the California Department of Water  
Resources and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced they will release  
their 80,000-page Environmental Impact Report/ Environmental Impact  
Statement (EIR/ EIS) for the Delta Tunnels plan on Thursday, December  
22, 2016.

The release of the huge document by the two lead agencies for the  
project comes at a critical time for the future of Governor Jerry  
Brown's Delta Tunnels project, the California WaterFix. The two top  
officials at the Department of Water Resources are retiring on  
December 31, while the new Donald Trump administration, filled with  
many controversial environmental appointees, will take the helm in  
Washington D.C. on January 21.

The document will be available at www.BayDeltaConservationPlan.com

According to a statement from Restore the Delta (RTD), “This document  
represents the agencies’ final attempt to convince state and federal  
regulators that their proposal for twin 40-foot, 30-mile long water  
tunnels to transfer Sacramento River water beneath the San Francisco  
Bay-Delta can meet environmental and water quality standards under the  
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National  
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a feat no previous version of the  
proposal has achieved."

"Despite any claims by project supporters, this document is by no  
means an approval of the proposal. It is akin to the submission of  
homework to be graded," the group said.

As the Department and the Bureau jointly told the State Water Board at  
the end of November 2016, the environmental report cannot be finalized  
until a biological opinion is completed in March or April 2017. They  
told the Board they would finalize the report “at approximately the  
same time” as when the biological opinion is released, according to RTD.

“How thoughtful of Delta Tunnel lead agencies to dump this document on  
defenders of the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary just before the  
holidays. For comparison, an 80,000-page document is roughly 66 Bibles  
long,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore  
the Delta. “We will begin digging through the information, evaluating  
agency replies to public comments included in this document, engage in  
the process moving forward, and prepare for litigation if required.”

The 80,000-page document is being released as the Delta Tunnels plan  
faces increasing opposition from fishermen, Tribal leaders,  
conservationists, environmental justice advocates, scientists and  
elected officials because it would destroy West Coast salmon and other  
fish populations and devastate family farms and communities throughout  
the Delta.

The Water Fix is based on the absurd contention that taking up to  
9,000 cubic feet per second of water from the Sacramento River at the  
new points of diversion, as requested in the petition by the  
Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation  
to the State Water Resources Control Board, will somehow “restore” the  
Delta ecosystem.

I am not aware of a single project in US or world history where the  
construction of a project that takes more water out of a river or  
estuary has resulted in the restoration of that river or estuary.

You can read a transcript of my testimony before the State Water  
Resources Control Board at: http://fishsniffer.com/index.php/2016/07/30/delta-tunnels-restoring-an-estuary-by-diverting-its-water/

Bill Croyle Named Acting Director of CA Department of Water Resources

Governor Jerry Brown has named Bill Croyle as the acting director of  
the Department of Water Resources, according to an internal memo from  
John Laird, the Secretary for Natural Resources of California, sent to  
DWR employees on December 13.

Croyle will replace Mark Cowin, who is retiring after 36 years with  
the agency, including nearly 7 years as DWR director. Croyle will  
assume his new position on January 1, 2017.

Mr. Croyle joined the Department in August of 2007 and served more  
than six years as Chief of Flood Operations, according to Laird. He is  
currently the Deputy Director for Emergency Preparedness and Security.

Before joining DWR, he worked for more than 23 years for the Central  
Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Mr. Croyle is a  
registered professional engineer with a B.S. in civil engineering from  
California State University, Sacramento.

“Please join me in congratulating Bill and giving him full support in  
his new role,” said Laird to the DWR employees.

“My colleagues and I at the Natural Resources Agency also express  
gratitude to Mark Cowin, who retires December 31 after nearly seven  
years as director of DWR,” said Laird. “He started in the department’s  
Fresno office 36 years ago as a civil engineering graduate of Stanford  
University. Mark has served California well as a pragmatic, empathetic  
statesman in perennial water resources conflicts. His energy and  
talent have been crucial to the development of water policy -  
including the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and a $7.5  
billion water bond — that will serve future Californians well.”

Laird said Cowin “will continue to serve the administration in an  
advisory role.”

Mike Jackson, legal counsel for the California Water Impact Network (C- 
WIN), responded to news of Croyle’s appointment by stating, “He is a  
dedicated public servant and will be very loyal to the department that  
he heads. I don't seen much difference between him and Mark Cowin.”

Jackson did note that Croyle understands water quality better than  
most DWR employees. “Hopefully, his water quality experience will  
result in him telling the Governor about the terrible water quality  
problems that will be compounded by the California WaterFix,” said  
Jackson.

Carl Torgersen, the DWR Chief Deputy Director, will also be retiring  
from his position at the agency at the end of 2016. Who will replace  
him has not been made public yet.

  
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