CSPA presents the Environmental Water Caucus News Update.
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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 14 - Week of December 14, 1997
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
(The next update will appear the week of January 4, 1998)
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Contents:
PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE TEASER:
Conservationists' Criticism Stops Premature CalFed Delta Plumbing Choice
*ACTION - Tell CalFed "Do Your Homework"
BAY/DELTA ACCORD EXTENSION IGNORES THREATS
ACTION GRAB BAG
*Influence Endangered Species Policy with CalFed impact by Dec. 30
*Attend Annual Hall of Fame dinner for Flyfishers
***THANK YOU***
To all who have made calls, written letters, and taken action to
help save the Bay/Delta and its watershed. Your efforts have made a
difference and will be crucial in 1998!
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PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE TEASER
Conservationists' Criticism Stops Premature CalFed Delta Plumbing Choice
Environmentalists criticized CalFed for preparing to choose a
"preferred alternative" for the Bay/Delta program before they had done
their homework on the potential for water conservation and recycling.
The criticism put CalFed's plans to choose and announce its favored
Delta plumbing configuration December 19th on ice. The decision has
now been re-scheduled for the end of January or even later.
CalFed has not conducted studies repeatedly requested by environmental
and fishing organizations to examine a "soft path" approach to solving
the state's water problems. CalFed does not know how much water
diversions would need to be reduced to restore the environment with the
present system; nor have they attempted a comprehensive study of the
conservation and recycling possibilities in agricultural and urban water
uses.
Other components of CalFed's program need beefing up as well. The water
transfers program is sketchy and the water quality program does not
analyze source protection benefits, to name a few.
The lack of information, particularly about water conservation, makes
it impossible to make a smart choice among the three alternatives and
risks wasting taxpayer dollars building infrastructure that may not be
necessary.
CalFed's top officials originally claimed the alternative needed to be
chosen in December in order to pull the environmental document
together by February, the scheduled release of the Draft Programmatic
Environmental Impact Report and Statement. CalFed is considering three
different "plumbing" alternatives, or ways to move water through the
delta:
1) use the current system
2) dredge and/or widen channels in the delta
3) build a canal around the delta while also dredging/widening
channels in the delta (similar to the Peripheral Canal defeated in
1982)
The state has been pressing CalFed to select a preferred alternative
now in order to finalize the CALFED planning process before Governor
Wilson leaves office in November 1998. EWC believes that this
unrealistic timetable could prevent CALFED from achieving an adequate,
well-founded plan.
TAKE ACTION
Call or write CalFed to wish them a happy holiday and tell them to do
their homework on water conservation and the other program components.
Lester Snow
Executive Director
CALFED Bay-Delta Program
1416 Ninth Street
Suite 1155
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 1-800-700-5752
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BAY-DELTA ACCORD EXTENSION IGNORES THREATS
State and federal officials extended the Bay/Delta Accord for one year
this week, despite new threats to the Bay/Delta, the Accord, and the
CalFed process. Environmentalists had called on CalFed in August to
answer critical questions before extending the Accord, but CalFed did
not respond.
The new threats to the ecosystem and the CalFed process include
weakened Delta water quality standards (as a means of increasing water
diversions to agribusiness), raids on ecosystem funds to subsidize
corporate irrigation, and a November lawsuit from the San Joaquin
Valley agricultural interests which seeks to block key fish
restoration provisions of federal law.
Environmentalists called on CalFed to honor the agreements in the
Accord rather than reinvent them to serve water development interests.
Conservation organizations signed the original Accord in 1994, but did
not sign the extension this week.
Government officials justify extending the Accord as a way to "keep
the focus" on CalFed's efforts to develop a long-term solution to the
state's water problems. Environmentalists said that failure to deal
with attacks on the existing Delta protections only increases the
risks to a successful long-term CalFed solution.
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ACTION GRAB BAG
*Influence Endangered Species Policy with CalFed impact by Dec. 30
The Clinton Administration plans to finalize the "no surprises" policy
associated with Habitat Conservation Plans in late December. This
policy could have big impacts on the CalFed program as it relates to
endangered species protection, such as chinook salmon and clapper
rail.
To learn how you can influence the policy by:
-writing a letter to Clinton and the editor of
your local newspaper
-calling federal legislators to urge them to support reform of the
proposed
administrative policy
contact Stacey Shull at mermaid@igc.apc.org.
*Attend Annual Hall of Fame dinner for flyfishers, Saturday, Jan. 31.
in Foster City, 6:30 p.m. For more information, contact
skajiwara@earthlink.net.
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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 smart, sustainable water future for California. The EWC
steering committee includes: Bay Area 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 solve
problems associated with the San Francisco Bay/Delta.