SoCal water agency could vote soon on whether to bankroll Delta tunnels

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WB Staff
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Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2012 10:56 am

SoCal water agency could vote soon on whether to bankroll Delta tunnels

Post by WB Staff »

SoCal water agency could vote soon on whether to bankroll Delta tunnels

Facing pressure from Gov. Jerry Brown, Southern California’s largest water agency could vote as soon as April on whether to take a majority stake in the twin-tunnels project Brown plans for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The fast-track timeline was disclosed Tuesday at a committee of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which heard a report from staff members about the benefits, risks and financing possibilities of the agency agreeing to pay the majority of the costs in a twin tunnels system.

Lacking the $16.7 billion needed to fund both tunnels at once, Brown’s administration earlier this month said it was going to phase in the project, starting with one tunnel for an estimated $11.1 billion. A second tunnel could get built years later if the rest of the dollars materialize.

Read the rest: http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/califo ... 47374.html
MichaelB
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Location: Modesto, CA

Re: SoCal water agency could vote soon on whether to bankroll Delta tunnels

Post by MichaelB »

How did the citizens of California, particularly Northern California, arrive in the situation that a Southern Cal "water agency" (MWD) can buy up islands in the Delta, fund either one or two Tunnels on the backs of their ratepayers, and be making plans to divert the Sacramento River South to the benefit of their water interests. The Delta as we know it is on a path to destruction..... and there does not appear as though we can do anything about it.
Ranger519v
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Re: SoCal water agency could vote soon on whether to bankroll Delta tunnels

Post by Ranger519v »

From the SacB article...

"They said the tunneling system would also prevent further harm to the Delta’s declining fish populations.

Currently, the pumps at the southern end of the Delta are so powerful, they can reverse the natural river flows and draw the fish toward predators and the pumps. By diverting a portion of the Sacramento River at a point near Courtland, at the north end of the Delta, and shipping it through underground tunnels to the pumping stations near Tracy, state officials say the WaterFix project would largely remedy the “reverse flow” problem and make the fish safer."

I assume they are referring to Salmon here and not Bass. Either way, do the Environmental reports support the above? Do they even exist? Given the politics of this, if MWD funds it, the only way to stop it will be with Environmental reports that clearly point out devastation that goes BEYOND the bass fishery.
Bob
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1997 Ranger 519DVS, 225 Mercury EFI, 12 and 9" HDS Gen 3s, 109 MG Tour, 10' Talons
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MichaelB
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Joined: Sun Aug 07, 2016 6:48 am
Location: Modesto, CA

Re: SoCal water agency could vote soon on whether to bankroll Delta tunnels

Post by MichaelB »

Ranger519v wrote:From the SacB article...

"They said the tunneling system would also prevent further harm to the Delta’s declining fish populations....... state officials say the WaterFix project would largely remedy the “reverse flow” problem and make the fish safer."
I am just fricking comforted to learn that the proponents of the Calif Waterfix are committed to "make the fish safer"

It is lies, promises, BS comments and shady agreements that have gotten this project to the point it is at now. Anyone who believes that the MWD, Stewart Resnick, Governor Brown or any of the rest of these complicit sleazebags could care less about "the fish" is just totally misinformed.
Jboutfishn
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Re: SoCal water agency could vote soon on whether to bankroll Delta tunnels

Post by Jboutfishn »

Diverting more of the Sac is going to help the fish how? :roll:
george
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Re: SoCal water agency could vote soon on whether to bankroll Delta tunnels

Post by george »

Twitter Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn Google Plus Instapaper
In case you missed it:
California Cities Sue State, Allege Secret Discussions of Water Project
Read at the Courthouse News.
By Nick Cahill
February 7, 2018

SACRAMENTO (CN) –Over a dozen California cities, water agencies and environmentalists sued the state late Tuesday, alleging that state regulators have been secretly plotting and discussing a contentious $16 billion water project.

The petitioners, led by Sacramento and San Joaquin counties, have uncovered public records that they claim prove that State Water Resources Board staffers discussed technical reviews and other documents regarding the California WaterFix with the project’s lead agencies.

“Evidence revealed in response to a recent request under the Public Records Act demonstrates deliberate obstruction, and possible collusion by the Department of Water Resources, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and [water board staff],” the complaint filed in Sacramento Superior Court states.

The water board must assess and sign off on the project’s environmental review before construction can finally begin on the decades-old project. It finished the first phase of the permit review and is currently holding hearings on the project’s impact on fish and wildlife.

More than 50 cities, counties, water suppliers and environmental groups have officially opposed the state’s permit application and the WaterFix as a whole.

The project calls for two 35-mile tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The tunnels would funnel water around the delta to the state’s southernmost farmers and cities, including Los Angeles. Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration has signed off on the project and hopes to begin construction by the end of 2018.

In their 37-page complaint, the petitioners are asking the court to prevent the water board from continuing public hearings and force it to release all evidence of off-the-record talks between water board staffers and project stakeholders.

In the latest twist of the project that has been perennially delayed by lawsuits, design changes and money shortages, someone opposing the project filed a public records request requesting ex parte or private communications between the department of water resources and the water board.

In response, a water board attorney released a cache of emails in Oct. 2017, detailing talks and meetings between staffers and project stakeholders. The emails show at least 12 separate instances of private talks from 2015 to 2016, with topics ranging broaching “preparation of the final environmental impact report” to “modeling” that was eventually presented to the water board.

The records show that staffers were discussing the project privately with the stakeholders, not commissioners who vote on the subject matter.

But the water board is defending and downplaying the once-secret private meetings. It says the communications concerned technical matters and that staffers didn’t relay information to commissioners.

“Based on the evidence before us, we conclude that no off-the-record information was indirectly passed by water board staff from the department of water resources to us or to any other member of the water board,” states a letter signed by Felicia Marcus, water board chair.

The water board did not respond to an email request for comment late Tuesday. Sacramento County’s counsel Andrew Hitchings of Somach Simmons & Dunn said the staffers’ ex parte talks have tainted the public hearings. He says the petitioners have already filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and will be in court Friday morning.

Other petitioners include the cities of Antioch and Stockton, Yolo, Solano and Contra Costa counties and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. They are asking for a permanent injunction preventing the water board from continuing hearings until the court weighs in on the ex parte communications.

The petitioners say the ongoing water board hearings are the “most significant water rights proceedings in the history of the state of California.” Among other things, the opponents say the alleged illegal backroom talks have prevented them from receiving a “fair hearing.”

The second stage of the water board’s review is expected to last through June.
We believe we have 12-18 months left to defeat the Delta Tunnels project
We accomplished a great deal over the last four months to stop the project. However, we only reached one-third of our fundraising goal this last year, as we were fully focused on organizing to alter water district votes for the tunnels throughout the state. We now need immediate funding to continue the effort. Make a donation.
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