Restore the Delta received word over the weekend that the Department of Water Resources will be releasing their Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) early this week for the Delta Conveyance Project. Documents for federal review of the project will be released later this fall.
Now we need your help. It’s time to write Governor Newsom and ask him: How can we move forward with a tunnel without updates to flow and water quality standards for the Delta?
We have provided a sample letter for our members to send below and we are asking for people to submit their thoughts through the Governor’s online platform and via snail mail.
Sample letter:
Dear Governor Newsom:
I am writing to request that you suspend moving forward any further with Delta Conveyance Planning.
In order to address the numerous questions around water quality, salinity intrusion, and pollution mitigation, your administration and the Department of Water Resources need to speak frankly about the sacrifices required by the people of the Delta for this project to advance.
Additionally, DWR and other state agencies need to release earnest proposals to resolve the significant water and air pollution impacts that will result from construction and operation of the project. Anything less from your administration will relegate the people of the region to second-class status in terms of air and water pollution impacts.
In addition, DWR and other state agencies continue to make the same mistake that they have for the last sixteen years regarding order of operations. First, California needs an emergency comprehensive statewide plan for dealing with aridification – the long-term change to our climate that we are all witnessing. Second, the State must complete and implement both phases of the Bay-Delta Plan. How can we move forward with a tunnel without updates to flow and water quality standards for the Delta?
With significant water shortages on the horizon, the Delta Conveyance Project should not be the first priority of the Department of Water Resources or your administration. DWR and the State Water Resources Control Board must find the courage to lead honestly, by doing the hard work of bringing supply and demand into balance first. We are too close to a water crisis to allow all energies to be directed toward what will become a mostly dry, expensive, and frequently empty tunnel, financed by water ratepayers and California taxpayers. What we need is a myriad of localized water projects that will prepare us for a diminishing water supply.
Thank you for reading this request. I implore you to change course on planning our water future.
Sincerely yours,
You may contact Governor Gavin Newsom by mail at:
The Honorable Governor Gavin Newsom
1021 O Street, Suite 9000
Sacramento, CA 95814
Or you may use the online platform available at this link.
Yours in service,
Restore the Delta