California regulators are supporting the controversial plans supported by Gov. Gavin Newsom, and opposed by environmental groups, which will give water agencies more room for compliance with water quality rules.
The approach to news support is part of a water plan proposed in the Sacramento Mountain Joaquin Delta released Thursday by the National Water Control Commission.
The program will provide water agencies with two potential avenues to meet water quality goals, based on traditional regulatory approaches that restrict water to maintain certain river flow levels, or alternatives supported by the governor, under which water agencies under the agreement can make certain water flow commitments while contributing funds to wetland habitat restoration projects.
The proposed plan aims to protect local fish and ecosystems through water quality standards and process goals in the Delta and San Francisco Bay.
Major water agencies have lined up to support these so-called voluntary agreements, which Newsom and his administration have touted to address regulatory approaches that are separated from traditional conflicts and to improve ecological health in the Delta.
Newsom said the program “tests California’s commitment to a collaborative, science-oriented approach to managing water to benefit our communities, the economy, as well as fish and wildlife.”
The proposed plan developed by state agency staff will now pass a public comment process and will eventually adopt a decision before the five-member National Water Commission. Members of the board of directors are appointed by the governor.
Environmental and fishing groups and leaders of delta communities believe that this voluntary approach will harm the deteriorating ecosystems of the estuary and the fish that suffer from sharp declines.
The Delta brings together rivers from a vast watershed and then flows to the San Francisco Bay. On the southern side of the Delta, state and federally operated pumps flow to cities and farms.
Eric Oppenheimer, executive director of the State Water Commission, said the proposed water quality plan update will “improve the conditions of fish and wildlife through a combination of mobility and habitat measures, while taking into account the needs of cities, towns and farms.”
Oppenheimer noted that the State Water Commission will track the agency’s commitments under a voluntary agreement, also known as the “Healthy River and Landscape Program.”
Under the draft plan, state officials will review the voluntary agreement after eight years to determine whether it should be extended, modified or terminated. If the board determines that the voluntary agreement has not achieved the expected results, the board may decide to return the water agency to the traditional regulatory approach.
“We incorporated the voluntary agreement avenues because we believe voluntary agreements are valuable,” Oppenheimer told reporters in a briefing. “The basic concept behind these voluntary agreements is that by combining processes and habitats, we think we can achieve significant ecosystem improvements that we think can be done with lower water supply impacts.”
Oppenheimer said state officials believe this approach would “get a high degree of cooperation and purchase from water users.”
Environmental and phishing groups condemn voluntary agreements proposed by these agencies because the behind-the-scenes transactions were not reached with input from native tribes, delta communities or conservation advocates. By failing to protect existing flows, the agreement is designed to lay the stage for large-scale additional water supply.
Newsom and his administration are pushing for a proposed Delta transport project, attempting to build a 45-mile water tunnel under the delta and are moving towards plans to build the site Reservoir of the first new new major reservoir in the northern valley of Sacramento in the state.
Ashley Overhouse, a water policy adviser for the environmental group Wildlife Defenders, said she was very worried about the state legislature’s approach.
“This is just the latest attempt by Newsom Administration, aiming to promote serious and inequality voluntary agreements that undermine minimum protection,” Overhouse said. “The proposal to cut freshwater through the delta in wet and dry years will devastating the overall health of species and estuaries.”
Overhose and other environmental advocates believe that voluntary transactions imposed by major water suppliers will cause catastrophic catastrophicity to threatened and endangered fish, including salmon, Steelhead, Steelhead, Green Sturgeon, Longfin odor and Delta smelting. They called for stricter traffic requirements to help people recover.
This year, Chinook salmon populations are so low that regulators Close commercial fishing season Despite limited recreational fishing, the coast has been in its third consecutive year for the third year.
Golden State Salmon Assn, a nonprofit that represents the fishing community. Executive Director Scott Artis said the state water bureau “appeared to collapse under pressure from the governor to approve a fatal voluntary agreement.”
Artis said this voluntary approach would worsen the environmental crisis in the delta and lay the foundation for “a more destructive transfer of large-scale delta tunnels.”
His team also criticized $2.9 billion Proposed funds This is what most agreements are required from state and federal funds. The group called it “Shell Game” and “Taxpayer Theft.”
renew Bay – Delta Water Quality Control Program It has been several years since it was made. In 1995, most waters adopted final substantial changes in water quality and flow requirements. In 2018, the State Water Bureau issued new standards to increase flow to the San Joaquin River.
The pending update will set rules for the Sacramento River Divide and other rules in other deltas.
The state Water Control Commission plans to hold a public hearing on the draft plan from September 8 to 9 and will accept written comments until September 10. The date for the board decision has not been set.
The proposal also calls for the establishment of tribes’ “helpful water” to recognize the links between native tribes and fish populations. There are more than 100 tribes in the Bay Area. The designation does not guarantee a certain amount of water for the tribe, but rather ensures that the cultural use of water, including fish, is protected under the plan, state officials said.
Wade Crowfoot, the state’s natural resources secretary, said the approach outlined by the plan would “improve river health by restoring rivers and revitalizing habitats.”
Newsom noted that he also proposed legislation to create exemptions for all such water quality plans under the California Environmental Quality Act. This will “accelerate the time it takes to complete these critical plans by eliminating unnecessary and redundant process requirements”, the governor said.
