For Immediate Release, September 9, 2015 Robert Wright, Friends of the River, (916) 442-3155 x 207, [email protected]  Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Restore the Delta, (209) 479-2053, [email protected]  Jeff Miller, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 499-9185, [email protected] DELTA TUNNELS  Project Violates Endangered Species Act, Will Hurt Imperiled Salmon, Groups Warn SACRAMENTO, Calif.— Conservation groups warned state and federal regulators today that the Delta Water Tunnels project (the so-called “California Water Fix”) to build massive tunnels to divert water from the Sacramento River to the Central Valley and State Water Projects cannot be permitted under the Endangered Species Act because it would adversely affect protected critical habitat for endangered salmon runs and other imperiled fish species in the Bay-Delta and Sacramento River. “The Water Tunnels project agencies are pandering to special-interest groups while ignoring [...]

For Release: August 28, 2015 Contact: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Restore the Delta, 209-479-2053 [email protected], Twitter: @RestoretheDelta View this release at our main website or in PDF format.    DELTA TUNNELS IMPACTS ON SF BAY-DELTA WATER QUALITY Five Questions Jerry Brown Doesn’t Want You to Ask   Operation of the proposed Delta tunnels, according to the Department of Water Resources' recirculated Environmental Impact Report, will reduce essential fresh water flows through the Delta to Suisun Bay and San Francisco Bay. Nonetheless, the State Water Resources Control Board has begun the permitting process to change the point where water will be diverted into the tunnels. This significant reduction in Sacramento River flows will degrade Delta and Suisun Marsh water quality because the Tunnels would isolate better [...]

For Immediate Release: 7/23/15   Contact: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Restore the Delta, (209) 479-2053, [email protected], @RestoretheDelta Tim Stroshane, Policy Analyst, Restore the Delta (510) 847-7556 [email protected] Restore the Delta Files Protest Over State Water Board’s Changes to Delta Outflows Board is picking winners and losers in a drought Sacramento – Restore the Delta has filed a protest and request for consideration with the State Water Resources Control Board over its prior “Temporary Urgent Change Petitions” regarding water exports, Delta outflows, and water quality standards for the SF Bay-Delta estuary during the drought.   In its protest, RTD bases its request in three key areas: the existing Temporary Urgency Change Petition does not serve the public interest, is contrary to law, and [...]

For Immediate Release: July 14, 2015 Contacts: Sandra Lupien, Food & Water Watch, 510-681-3171, [email protected] Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Restore the Delta, 209-479-2053, [email protected] Tom Stokely, California Water Impact Network, 530-926-9727, [email protected]   SPECIAL REPORT: Retiring Toxic Farmland in Western San Joaquin Valley Would Save Water, Environment and Taxpayer Money Land retirement 25x cheaper than Tunnel plan and could save 455,000 acre-feet of water   Sacramento, CA – A new report by EcoNorthwest, an independent economic analysis firm, estimates that 300,000 acres of toxic land in the Westlands Water District and three adjacent water districts could be retired at a cost of $580 million to $1 billion.   Read the report here.   Retiring this land and curbing the water rights associated [...]

Contact: Brian Smith 415-320-9384 [email protected]; Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla 209-479-2053 [email protected] Top Ten Questions Delta Tunnels Boosters Don’t Want You to Ask 1. How will construction of the tunnels over a fourteen-year period help with drought? 2. Will the state conduct a full cost-benefit analysis of the project that includes the value of freshwater to the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary? 3. How much water is available for export through the tunnels in a drought after prior water rights and public trust needs are met? And if there isn’t any, how often will the tunnels be dry? 4. How does California Water Fix help reduce reliance on Delta imports as mandated by the 2009 Delta Reform Act? 5. The State Water Resources Control [...]

For Immediate Release: Wednesday 7/8/15 Contact: Brian Smith, 415/320-9384, [email protected] Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, 209/479-2053 [email protected] DELTA TUNNELS: New Plan, New EIR, Same Old Water GrabThree government actions imperil the largest estuary on the West Coast Listen to our teleconference: Sacramento, CA – Today, Restore the Delta and a coalition of advocates for the San Francisco Bay-Delta held a teleconference to preview the EIR/EIS for the revised Delta Tunnels project (formerly known as the Bay Delta Conservation Plan) to be released on Friday, July 10. The old plan failed to meet federal standards under the Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act, or to pencil out for water users. Under the leadership of Governor Brown’s administration, and public relations efforts like Californians [...]

Dear Restore the Delta friends,   We need you to express your opposition to the federal drought bill, H.R. 2898, the Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015, by House Rep. David Valadao, a congressman who represents Big Ag in the Central Valley desert.   Please call your senator ASAP – especially Senator Barbara Boxer. If you already called, please continue to call your Senator until this bill dies. Thank you for your dedication.   H.R. 2898 will harm west coast salmon and fisheries, override key environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act, and will ruin Delta water quality for all Bay-Delta users (farmers, drinking water, native fish, and wildlife refuges).   This House bill is fast tracked [...]

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 Contact: Brian Smith 415/320-9384; [email protected] Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla 209/479-2053 [email protected]; Twitter: @RestoretheDelta;  Bill Jennings 209/464-5067 [email protected];   Native Fish Species Near Extinction; State Water Resources Control Board Violated Prohibition Against Unreasonable Use of Water   Sacramento, CA- Restore the Delta (RTD), the leading opponents of Gov. Brown’s rush to build massive underground water tunnels that would drain the Delta and doom sustainable farms, salmon and other Pacific fisheries, today, along with with the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance made detailed comments at the State Water Resources Control Board workshop on drought management of the Delta and the State’s water system. Both organizations charge that the SWRCB is violating key laws in its management of the [...]

For Immediate Release: Thursday, June 18, 2015 Contact: Steve Hopcraft 916/457-5546; [email protected]; Twitter: @shopcraft; Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla 209/479-2053 [email protected]; Twitter: @RestoretheDelta; Bill Jennings, CSPA, 209-464-5067 Tunnels Opponents: State Water Contractors Not Satisfied Until They Grab Every Last Drop Out of Delta Watershed Salmon & Other Fisheries Near Extinction, Delta Farmers Reduce Water Use by 25%, State Water Contractors Say It’s Not Enough   <span style="font-size:16px"Sacramento, CA – Restore the Delta (RTD), the leading opponents of Gov. Brown’s rush to build massive underground water tunnels that would drain the Delta and doom sustainable farms, salmon and other Pacific fisheries, today responded to the Metropolitan Water District and the State Water Contractor’s complaint against the State Water Resources Control Board that Delta farmers [...]