News

For Immediate Release: 2/12/19

Contact: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Restore the Delta, barbara@restorethedelta.org

Governor Newsom Ends Twin Tunnels
Restore the Delta Responds

Stockton, CA – At the State Capitol in Sacramento, Governor Gavin Newsom gave his first State of the State Address today. In a highly-anticipated decision, Governor Newsom pulled the plug on the decade-long proposal known as the California Water Fix (Twin Tunnels.)

On water issues, Governor Newsom said: “There are no easy answers. But let me be as clear as I can be. I do not support, the WaterFix as currently configured, meaning I don’t support the Twin Tunnels.”

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta responds:

“We are grateful to Governor Newsom for listening to the people of the Delta, and California, and putting an end to the boondoggle WaterFix, twin tunnels project.

“We look forward to working with his administration and the State Water Resources Control Board to create and enforce policies that will restore Delta water quality and quantity, lessen water dependence on the Delta, and promote clean drinking programs and regional self-sufficiency for the benefit of all Californians.

“As we testified under oath at the State Water Resources Control Board, we will re-evaluate any proposed new conveyance projects for their merits and weaknesses and share our findings with Californians.”

Restore the Delta Applauds Bills to Create a Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area - February 5, 2019

Stockton, CA – Restore the Delta today applauds the introduction of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area Act in the U.S. Senate today. Congressman John Garamendi (D-Calif.) recently introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

The bill would establish California’s first National Heritage Area, a designation that already exists in many states. The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area provides a great model.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as a National Heritage Area would be managed by the Delta Protection Commission. The bill authorizes $10 million to local governments and nonprofit organizations to develop a National Heritage Area management plan that promotes environmental stewardship, heritage conservation, and economic development projects throughout the Delta.

The bill would have no effect on water rights, water contracts or property rights and creates no new regulatory authority or burden on local government or private citizens. The bill would also have no effect on fishing and hunting within the National Heritage Area.

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta said:

“We applaud this effort to protect Delta culture and history. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is truly the heart of California. It is the state’s fruit bowl, water supply, and historical hub. This bill will put this vital ecosystem on the map and help bring visitors, and economic investment to the region, while respecting the needs of the region’s landowners.”

2018 Crab Feed Update

Our Crab Feed took place on April 7th. We want to thank everyone who attended this great event and particpated in our live auction and raffle. We want to especially thank the gentleman who spent close to $3,000.00 on the auction and raffle tickets.

Restore the Delta Pens Potent Letter Calling for Abolition of Delta Stewardship Council

Restore the Delta January 22, 2018

STOCKTON – Today, Restore the Delta called for the abolition of the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) in a powerful comment letter directed at the Council’s recently released Draft Program Environmental Impact Report (DPEIR) on the Delta Plan Amendments that would greenlight the Delta tunnels and other new storage projects around the state.

In the letter, Restore the Delta disclosed that 65 of 75 impacts listed in the report were significant and unavoidable according to the DSC, which justified such harmful impacts as reflective of the DSC’s inability to control what other state and federal water agencies do.

Policy Analyst for Restore the Delta, Tim Stroshane writes,
“The DSC is a bureaucratic redundancy lacking meaningful authority to benefit either the people of the Delta or of the state of California. The DSC should be abolished and its useful functions, such as the Delta Independent Science Board, relocated to another more appropriate state agency.

“Furthermore, we find that in the Draft Plan EIR for the amendments that:

• “The Council’s proposed Delta Plan amendments are planning activities, yet they take no account of State of California environmental justice, human right to water, and anti-discrimination policy requirements.
• “The proposed Delta Plan amendments fail to set measurable standards for reducing reliance on the Delta and for making conservation a way of life in California.
• “The proposed Delta Plan amendments fail to address in a meaningful way the significant and unavoidable impacts resulting from construction and operation of new conveyance. Instead, the DSC so to speak passes the administrative buck back to other state agencies.”

To read Restore the Delta’s comment letter, click here.

BACKGROUND:
For years, Restore the Delta, environmental groups, and Delta residents have requested the Delta Stewardship Council to follow Delta Reform Act mandates to reduce reliance on the Delta, invest in existing levees, protect fish, and stop the damage from operation of the state and federal water pumps near Tracy. Instead, the DSC chose to promote ”dual conveyance” systems in order to aid the Brown Administration and special interest water districts attempting to push through the Delta Tunnels proposal in the last year of Governor Brown’s term.

CSBA Founder Jay Sorensen Inducted into the California Outdoor Hall of Fame. Information from Dave Hurley.

My highlight at the ISE Show on January 20th was watching Jay Sorensen inducted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame, and typical Jay style, he took the opportunity to speak his mind about our responsibility as stewards of the resource during the presentation. Despite his weakened state from his three-year recovery from throat cancer, he was on target. You can see the video of the presentation to Sorensen from Tom Stienstra on my Facebook Page – USA Fishing Hot Sheet. Sorensen and It is excellent to see the respect that Sorensen received from fellow fishermen as we made a pass through the main fishing hall, and there were a number of people who wanted to take their picture with him. One party boat captain offered to set up a trip to get him back out on the water once again, and for the first time in at least 8 years, Sorensen agreed to go on the boat. The picture with Dick Pool is significant as important as Sorensen has been to striped bass, Pool has been equally important to salmon – both as a tackle innovator with Scotty Downriggers and Pro-Troll products and his constant advocacy through Water4Fish, the Golden Gate Salmon Association, and the numerous state and national committees of which he is a representative. These are special individuals who have shown us how to keep our priorities in order.

From Restore the Delta January 2018

The Trump Administration’s recent announcement to increase Delta exports to Central Valley farmers poses an imminent threat to the emblematic California fish species under the watch of Governor Brown. With only two Delta smelt identified in the last fish survey, state and federal agencies need to focus time, money, and energy on restoring smelt populations instead of turning up the pumps.

If the Delta smelt are gone, it will be that much easier for tunnels proponents to build CA WaterFix—a system that when operated will usher in the extinction of Delta smelt if they are not completely wiped out during the project’s construction. The Delta smelt is our small but mighty canary in the coal mine; it is an indicator of the health of the Delta ecosystem. If it goes, the future impacts to the health of humans and to other Delta fish and wildlife would be devastating.

The Delta smelt could be the first fish species to become extinct in the United States since the Endangered Species Act was signed in 1973. We can’t let this happen under our watch. In the wake of this environmental crisis, we need to push our elected officials, regardless of their past or current behaviors, to speak up against the Trump Administration’s plan. If we remain silent, we become complicit in the first extinction of a fish species since the enactment of the Endangered Species Act.

Can you also contact our Californian elected leaders to let them know that the Delta is worthy of protection? When you call your elected officials, let them know that:

‣ The people of California want state and federal government entities to invest time and money into researching how to improve management of the Delta cross channel and how to create non-physical barriers that direct fish back to Suisun Marsh, instead of the continued pursuit of the costly Delta Tunnels. The tunnels will NOT save the Delta smelt, and if no other solutions are pursued, we will lose this tenacious fish forever.

‣ Taking more water out of the Delta is a direct violation of the Delta Reform Act of 2009 which mandates that all future water solutions MUST reduce reliance on the Delta.

‣ We refuse to be complacent in the extinction of Delta smelt which could be the beginning of a collapsing food chain for the Delta, the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary, and coastal fisheries at large. Protecting the Delta smelt does not mean sacrificing the needs of humans—it is a necessary act to maintain the ecosystems that shape our livelihoods.

‣ If the Delta smelt are gone, it will be that much easier for tunnels proponents to build CA WaterFix—a system that when operated will usher in the extinction of Delta smelt if they are not completely wiped out during the project’s construction.

Governor Jerry Brown
(916) 445-2841 | E-mail | Tweet

Senator Diane Feinstein
Washington D.C. (202) 224-3841
District Offices: (310) 914-7300, (415) 393-0707, (559) 485-7430
E-mail | Tweet

Senator Kamala Harris
Washington D.C. (202) 224-3553
District Offices: (213) 894-5000, (415) 355-9041, (559) 497-5109
E-mail | Tweet

California Striped Bass Association
West Delta Chapter
P.O.Box 2691
Antioch, California 94531-2691