The State Water Board is hosting an online Environmental Justice Listening Session on June 7th from 3pm to 7 pm. This listening session will focus on gathering Environmental Justice community input on its implementation of the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Bay Delta Plan/BDP) and proposed Voluntary Agreements. Representatives of environmental justice organizations, economically disadvantaged communities (DACs); and black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) community members and individuals are specifically invited to this event.
The Board will run short presentations on the Bay-Delta Plan process and Voluntary Agreements, including a recently released Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement. These will be followed by the public’s “opportunity to provide input” and then breakout groups that will inform a larger discussion with the Board members.
To participate in the meeting (provide comments and participate in breakout groups) you must be registered for the meeting. Folks with problematic internet access may instead call in. After you register, you should receive an email message that provides both the Zoom link and a phone number to access the meeting.
The deadline to register is Thursday, June 1st, 2023:
Take action to support implementation of the Bay Delta Plan and against Voluntary Agreements by registering! The Bay Delta Plan is critical to achieving increased flows, more habitat, better water quality, and thriving communities in the Delta and beyond!
For more information about the session, visit https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/board_info/calendar/docs/2023/notice_ejsession_051123.pdf
Recent Update:
Restore the Delta submitted a letter to the State Water Resources Control Board that provides our comments on the Notice of Preparation (NOP) of a tiered environmental document (TED) on the proposed Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement (TVA TED).
Restore the Delta is disappointed that the Board decided to proceed with preparing this proposed TVA TED. We think it is only half-, rather than fully baked. Devoting valuable Board staff time to this TVA TED takes resources away from production of Phase 2 of the Bay Delta Plan that addresses Sacramento River, Delta, and Delta water facilities’ operational objectives.
A non-governmental organization coalition letter was also submitted commenting on the NOP TVA TED. This included Natural Resources Defense Council, San Francisco Baykeeper, the Bay Institute, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Institute for Fisheries Resources, Sierra Club California, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Friends of the River, Tuolumne River Conservancy, Merced River Conservation Committee, Tuolumne River Trust, Northern California Council Fly Fishers International, Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center, Restore the Delta, and Golden State Salmon Association.