Subject:
UPDATE 18 on Bay/Delta from EWC
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 16:43:14 -0800
From: Jenna Olsen <jenna.olsen@sfsierra.sierraclub.org>
Reply-To: EWC Newsletter <COMMONS-CA-ENV-WATER-CAUCUS-NEWS@LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG>
To: COMMONS-CA-ENV-WATER-CAUCUS-NEWS@LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG
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A BI-WEEKLY UPDATE FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL WATER CAUCUS (EWC)
ON THE CALFED BAY/DELTA PROGRAM
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Number 18 - Week of March 22, 1998
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Contents:
IT'S ONLY A WETLAND IF IT'S WET
Fowl, Fish, and People Need Quality Wetlands in Central Valley
*URGENT ACTION-By Apr 3, Tell Interior "Don't Weaken Refuge Policy"
CALFED IN THE PUBLIC EYE
Draft Documents Released, in the news and in southern California
*TAKE ACTION-Attend Public Hearings in late April/early May
WILSON'S CALIFORNIA WATER PLAN-57 NEW OR ENLARGED DAMS PROPOSED
*TAKE ACTION-By Apr 15, Tell Wilson "Re-Do the Plan"
(Comment Deadline extended by 15 days!)
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IT'S ONLY A WETLAND IF IT'S WET
Fowl, Fish, and People Need Quality Wetlands in Central Valley
The Department of Interior is poised to make a landmark decision for
providing adequate water to wetlands in the Central Valley. This
decision will form an important baseline for CalFed's wetland
restoration programs.
Wetlands not only nurture waterfowl and other birds, they also improve
water quality for people and for fish. At issue is the amount of water
that "managed wetlands"--wildlife refuges--receive from the federal
water project in California.
California's Central Valley wetland wildlife refuges provide habitat
for:
-over 550 species of animals and plants, including the endangered
Peregrine falcon and San Joaquin kit fox and the threatened Giant
garter snake and Aleutian Canada Goose.
-60% of the millions of waterfowl migrating from Alaska to Central
America along the Pacific Flyway during the winter
The Department of Interior is poised to "do the right thing" for these
wildlife refuges. Interior has issued a draft policy which would
ensure that Central Valley wildlife refuges:
-receive firm water supplies in all but the driest years, and never
receive less than 75% of their necessary supplies
-will have long-term water contracts/agreements in place by April 1,
1999
-have the right to keep any water that they conserve, rather than be
required to turn such water over to agricultural uses.
But San Joaquin Valley corporate agricultural interests are pushing
Interior to overturn this draft policy. Interior needs to hear from
YOU, urging them not to weaken the draft policy when it is finalized.
The refuge policy is part of the administrative implementation of the
1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act ("CVPIA"), which required
that 15 state, federal, and private Central Valley wildlife refuges
receive firm, reliable supplies of good quality water every year. Years
of opposition by San Joaquin Valley corporate agricultural interests
have stymied Interior's implementation of this key CVPIA provision.
The draft issue paper is available on the web: http:/www. mp. usbr.
gov, or by calling 916-978-5102.
***TAKE ACTION***
Call or write Deputy Secretary of Interior John Garamendi before
Friday, April 3, 1998.
John Garamendi
Deputy Secretary of Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: (202) 208-6291
Fax: (202) 208-1873
email: John_Garamendi@IOS.DOI.GOV
Sample message:
Dear Deputy Secretary Garamendi,
Please finalize the draft proposal for Central Valley wildlife refuges
as it is currently written so that these refuges can flourish. I urge
you not to weaken the draft proposal; California's Central Valley
wetlands and wildlife need to have reliable, good quality water
supplies throughout the year. Please notify me of your final decision.
Thank you very much,
Concerned Citizen
If possible, send a copy of your comments to Wendy Pulling, NRDC, 71
Stevenson Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 or wpulling@nrdc.org.
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CALFED IN THE PUBLIC EYE
Draft Documents Released, in the news and in southern California
On March 16, CalFed released its draft environmental documents for
public review, after three years of planning. Environmental and
fishing organizations characterized the documents as a repackaging of
tired ideas rather than fresh, thoughtful solutions, despite progress
on its ecosystem restoration program. The documents show an
over-reliance on concrete rather than the proven innovations of water
conservation
CalFed's draft plan is comprised of 12 volumes of documents. The plan
is summarized in a 150-page "Phase II Interim Report" that will be
the basis for public comment. The deadline for comment is June 1. For
a copy of the report, call 1-800-900-3587.
The plan will have enormous impacts on California's water future well
into the 21st century. The plan includes five "common programs", 3
alternatives for moving water through the delta, and up to 5.5 million
acre-feet of new water storage--dams and reservoirs (an acre-foot
equals 326,000 gallons). The environmental community believes CalFed
has the potential to be the most ambitious restoration program in the
nation. However, the plan currently contains scientific flaws and
needs improvement. For more information about the programs in CalFed's
plan, see Update 17.
Angling and conservation groups charged that CalFed has not asked the
right questions and its documents do not provide information the
public needs to make an informed choice. The most glaring omissions
are CalFed's neglect of the proven cost-effectiveness of water
conservation and the relationship between healthy streams and high
quality drinking water.
For example, the plan suggests that less than one per cent of the
water currently used by agriculture could be conserved-- a goal that
appears out of touch with conservation potential. Innovative farmers
and districts are implementing practices that show significant water
savings of up to 25 or even 50 per cent.
Additional shortcomings in CalFed's document include its failure to
fully explore: the benefits of natural cleansing processes to bring
healthier water with restored wetlands, forests, and meadows; the
potential of non-chlorinated treatment of drinking water to protect
public health; and the water quality and environmental benefits of
restoring freshwater flows to rivers, streams, and the Bay/Delta.
Other areas with inadequate analyses include: programs to reduce
irrigation of lands with runoff that pollutes our waterways; how the
CalFed program will be financed--including appropriate use of taxpayer
dollars; and guarantees that the program will achieve its goals and be
implemented correctly.
Despite these shortcomings, CalFed remains the best opportunity to
move California toward a sustainable water future. To make the most of
this opportunity, citizens should get involved and push CalFed toward
a conservation-based approach to meeting the needs of all Californians
and California wildlife.
*In Southern California*
Several activists from the southland presented excellent statements to
CalFed's public advisory committee in Burbank on April 19th. The
topics ranged from the success of conservation efforts to the
importance of restoring groundwater quality, to the importance of
pricing agricultural water to reflect its true cost. Special kudos go
to Fran Spivy-Weber, Mono Lake Committee, for coordinating the
presentations.
*In the News*
The release of CalFed's documents and environmental concerns were
widely covered by the media. Media coverage often highlighted CalFed's
proposal to build a canal to carry water around the delta to the pumps
which send water to Southern California. The proposal, known as
alternative 3 or the "isolated facility", is similar to a 1982
Peripheral Canal which was proposed and soundly defeated by
Californians in a statewide vote. The canal has potential to damage
the Bay/Delta ecosystem and could also increase harmful water
diversions from the system.
Congressman George Miller (CA 7), senior Democratic member of the
House Committee on Resources, stated in his opinion piece in the San
Diego Union Tribune that "CalFed participants have worked hard, and
they deserve credit. . .but as with past efforts, CalFed is
demonstrating a reluctance to crack down on water waste. Urban and
irrigation conservation, changes in the crops farmers grow and
waste-water reuse could probably generate more water than the $11
billion worth of new projects that CalFed has proposed, and at a tiny
fraction of the price. California's taxpayers must not let CalFed, or
the state or federal agencies that comprise it, duck the hard
questions."
A San Jose Mercury News editorial stated that "it is premature to talk
about major new facilities until water conservation and marketing have
been vigorously pursued. Their potential has hardly been tapped." It
concluded with "Nothing about water has ever been easy in California;
that hasn't changed. But California has changed astonishingly over the
last 100 years, and the thinking about water has to change with it."
***TAKE ACTION***
1) In the Sacramento area, attend CalFed's information briefing (not a
public hearing) on their draft documents, the decision-making process
for choosing a preferred alternative and how public comments will be
incorporated into the final programmatic EIS/EIR. It is free and open
to the public. No registration is required.
Friday, April 3, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Sacramento Convention
Center, 1400 J Street, room 203.
2) Attend the public hearing (and bring all your friends and
colleagues) in your vicinity to tell CalFed you want a smart choice
for California's water future--give conservation a chance to work; we
don't need new dams!
All meetings begin at 7:00 p.m.
Apr 21 Ontario, Holiday Inn, 3400 Shelby Street
Apr 22 Fresno, Ramada Inn, 324 E. Shaw Ave.
Apr 23 Oakland, Oakland Masonic Center, 3903 Broadway
Apr 28 Burbank, Fire Training Center, 1845 N. Ontario
Apr 29 Bakersfield, Kern Ag Pavilion, 501 S. Mount Vernon
Apr 30 Santa Cruz, Pacific Cultural Center, 1307 Seabright
May 5 Irvine, University High School
May 6 Walnut Grove, Jean Harvie Center, 14273 River Road
May 7 Chico, Chico Community Center, 545 Vallombrosa Ave.
May 12 San Diego, Encinitas City Council, 505 South Vulcan Ave.
May 13 Pittsburg, Marina Center, 340 Marina Center
May 14 Redding, Doubletree Hotel, 1830 Hilltop Drive
Information and talking points on the CalFed documents are
forthcoming. Contact Jenna Olsen, EWC Organizer, for more information
(415/977-5728). For a copy of the 150-page Phase II report, call
1-800-900-3587. You may also request some or all of the other
documents if you wish; just ask for a list of the documents available.
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WILSON'S CALIFORNIA WATER PLAN-57 NEW OR ENLARGED DAMS PROPOSED
The Draft California Water Plan (Bulletin 160) presents a statewide
overview of current water management activities and provides
recommendations to policy-makers on the future of water in California.
The draft plan minimizes water conservation potential and uses flawed
economics to predict massive shortages of water in the future.
The plan, as currently drafted, advocates the largest and most
destructive public works projects currently under consideration in the
United States. It identifies 43 new dams and reservoirs and 14
enlarged dams and reservoirs. These proposals would destroy many of
the rivers and watersheds that other governmental entities, community
groups and property owners are working to protect and restore.
Key problems with the draft California Water Plan:
* would force the condemnation of thousands of acres of public and
private property, including wildlife areas, small communities, farms,
and businesses
*would inundate many of the last spawning areas for endangered salmon
and steelhead and other wildlife
*would force current California taxpayers to shoulder the burden for
billions of dollars to subsidize water for agribusiness and new
development
*would tap the state's remaining groundwater resources with little or
no legal controls to ensure aquifers are not depleted
*gives short shrift to water conservation
*does not adequately consider more efficient use of existing water
supplies
A Sampler of Rivers and Watersheds Threatened by the Plan:
*American -- the 500-foot high Auburn Dam would drown 48 miles of the
north and middle forks of the American River on an extensive system of
earthquake faults
*San Joaquin--Enlarging Friant dam would drown the Millerton Lake
State Recreation area, hundreds of acres of federally managed public
lands, an increasingly popular whitewater recreation run, and a PG&E
hydroelectric plant.
*Santa Ana-Reoperating the existing Prado dam in Riverside County
would drown hundreds of acres of riparian habitat for the endangered
Least Bell's Vireo and Yellow Billed Cuckoo.
*Yuba--old, economically-infeasible plans for building the Parks Bar
dam are revived, as well as the Waldo project, which would store water
by covering the Spenceville Wildlife Refuge and a toxic mine site and
destroy Yuba's salmon runs.
*Mokelumne--enlarging existing dams and building two new projects
would drown miles of river already providing hydropower, essential
fish habitat, and outstanding recreation possibilities.
Other threatened rivers include: Cache Creek, Carmel River, Cosumnes
River, Cottonwood Creek, Pescadero Creek, Sacramento River, and more.
For more information, contact Traci Sheehan or Maureen Rose at Friends
of the River (916/442-3155). View the California Water Plan at
http://rubicon.water.ca.gove./pdintro.html or order a copy at
916-653-1097.
***TAKE ACTION***
By Apr 15, Send a comment letter to the Department of Water Resources.
(see Update 17 for a sample letter).In your letter, urge DWR to:
-submit the plan to an independent panel of economists
-re-write the plan to incorporate the true potential of water
conservation and efficiency to meet California's needs
-comment on the impacts of the new water projects described above.
Send your comments to:
Jeanine Jones
Chief
Statewide Planning Branch
Dept. of Water Resources
P.O. Box 942836
Sacramento, CA 94236
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO SUBMIT AN ITEM FOR THE NEXT UPDATE
please contact jenna.olsen@sierraclub.org
address: Environmental Water Caucus
c/o Sierra Club
85 Second Street, second floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Fax: 415/977 5702
Phone: 415/977 5728
This update is also available by fax.
The Environmental Water Caucus is a coalition of organizations working
toward a sustainable water future for California. The EWC steering
committee includes: Audubon Chapters, California League of
Conservation Voters, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance,
Clean Water Action, Environmental Defense Fund, Friends of the River,
Natural Heritage Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council, Pacific
Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, Sierra Club, Save San
Francisco Bay Association, The Bay Institute, The Nature Conservancy,
and United Anglers.
The Environmental Water Caucus focuses on improving the CalFed
Bay/Delta program, a joint state/federal planning process to address
problems associated with the San Francisco Bay/Delta.
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