Restore the Delta has been saying since last summer that the total cost of the Peripheral Tunnels/BDCP would be close to $55 billion, not the $14 billion BDCP kept talking about. Here, from the BDCP’s own documents, are supporting details of projected costs for the 50 years of the permit period:
Construction – $14.5 billion
Operations and maintenance – $1.5 billion
Interest on Tunnel Revenue bonds – $26.3 billion
Habitat and Conservation – $7 billion
Interest on General Obligation Bonds – $3.2 billion
Administration and Research – $1.6 billion
TOTAL – $54.1 billion
BDCP officials have been disingenuous in not including the interest on the revenue or GO bonds as a part of the cost of the project. These are real costs that must be paid by the entity (DWR or the state) generating the bond indebtedness. After all, these will not be interest free bonds. When reporting the costs of the tunnels, the correct amount with the interest payments should be $42.3 billion. The correct amount for the remaining costs (primarily habitat and conservation) should be $11.8 billion, for a total BDCP cost of $54.1 billion.