[env-trinity] Trinity Journal Editorial: Answers, reinstatement needed on TAMWG

[Tom Stokely]

http://www.trinityjournal.com/opinion/editorials/article_4cec23a2-dfab-11e7-918d-bf8eb46eaa61.html

Answers, reinstatement needed on TAMWG
   
   - 11 hrs ago
 -  0
   
   - Facebook
   - Twitter
   - Email
   
   - Facebook
   - Twitter
   - Email
   - Print
   - Save
In a move that shocked many, the stakeholder advisory group that provides input on Trinity River Restoration Program decisions has been effectively dissolved by the Interior Department.“We don’t know why they did it,” Tom Stokely, who was chair of the advisory group known as the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG), told the Journal. Formation of the TAMWG was called for in the Trinity River Record of Decision signed by former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in 2000, and serves as the advisory group to the Trinity Management Council, which oversees the Trinity River Restoration Program.TAMWG was suspended earlier this year by the new Trump administration along with many other federal advisory commissions. That, in and of itself, isn’t unusual. Commissions and committees regularly come under review under new administrations. Most groups are up and running again in short order.Not TAMWG, and no one can provide a direct answer as to why. The Interior Department indicated the group was deactivated because the group didn’t file paperwork justifying why it should continue operating.“I was never asked for anything,” Stokely responded. And staff from the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife in Arcata told Stokely it has submitted paperwork, in addition to seeking approval on multiple occasions for the group to resume meeting. So the government’s claim that this is an “inactive” group doesn’t hold water.On one level this could just be your typical bureaucratic snafu that happens with new administrations.But no, this goes deeper. We see something far more sinister in this — yet another attempt to secure more Trinity River water for the Central Valley Project by taking away the public’s crucial opportunity to be closely involved in decisions affecting the Trinity River.During the most recent Trinity Management Council meeting, federal government representatives declined to support a letter requesting reactivation of the stakeholder group. TMC representatives of agencies under the Interior Department, including Don Bader of the federal Bureau of Reclamation, noted they’ve been told to refer any questions on the issue to the Interior Department where the decision was made.Their not-so-subtle message to TAMWG supporters: The decision has been made, get over it. We’re not losing our jobs over this.With former Westlands Water District lobbyist David Bernhardt now a deputy director at the Department of Interior, it’s not hard to see how this is playing out. Weaken stakeholder input on Trinity River issues and ease the path for another water grab.Not on our watch.We ask Interior officials to immediately reinstate the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group.In the meantime, we ask county and state officials to exercise every “Area of Origin” right on the books.It’s also time we find a way to start charging for the export of our most valuable resource. We see no reason Trinity County shouldn’t be getting $20 an acre foot or more for the first 500,000 acre feet of water going over the hill, and even more for every acre foot thereafter. That would fund a fair amount of new sheriff’s deputies, road repairs, and longer library hours, along with other much-needed projects.If Interior thinks our water is that valuable (and in California it is), then Trinity County deserves to bereimbursed for such.The county also deserves a healthy and viable river fishery and ecosystem that comes from public oversight of the controversial restoration program, whose projects over the years have met with decidedly mixed results. End the charade and reinstate TAMWG now.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www2.dcn.org/pipermail/env-trinity/attachments/20171214/a24b1364/attachment.html>