{"id":432399,"date":"2010-03-15T18:16:48","date_gmt":"2010-03-15T22:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/waterfront\/?p=674"},"modified":"2010-03-15T18:16:48","modified_gmt":"2010-03-15T22:16:48","slug":"how-much-water-does-the-delta-need-state-board-set-to-hold-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/432399","title":{"rendered":"How Much Water Does the Delta Need? State Board Set to Hold Hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Mark Hitchcock Legal Fellow, EDF<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

EDF supported the 2009 water policy reform package passed by the California legislature, but we have always maintained<\/a> that the true test of the legislation will be how effectively its provisions are implemented. An early test of the legislation begins on March 22-24, when the State Water Resources Control Board (\u201cSWRCB\u201d) will hold a public<\/a> hearing<\/a> to develop flow criteria for the Sacramento \u2013 San Joaquin Delta. The hearing is an immensely important opportunity for the SWRCB to determine how much water is needed in the Delta to restore and protect its natural resources.<\/p>\n

The Legislation<\/span>
\nThe hearing is a central part of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009<\/a> (\u201cReform Act\u2019), one piece of the five water reform bills passed in November, 2009. The Reform Act established a new governance structure for state agencies responsible for the Delta with the goal of managing the Delta in sustainable way. The bill created a new Water Code \u00a785086 that directs the SWRCB to, \u201cpursuant to its public trust obligations, develop new flow criteria for the Delta ecosystem necessary to protect public trust resources.\u201d Under the public trust doctrine, the SWRCB is entrusted with protecting the Delta\u2019s aquatic resources for the benefit of the people of California. The doctrine protects a wide-range of Delta uses, including \u201cnavigation, fishing, recreation, ecology and aesthetics<\/a>.\u201d Thus, the Reform Act charges the SWRCB with developing flow levels that will ensure the biological health of the Delta estuary.<\/p>\n

Keys to Success:<\/span>
\n\u2022 Public Participation: The legislation requires that \u201c[t]he flow criteria shall be developed in a public process\u201d and that the hearing \u201cshall provide an opportunity for all interested persons to participate.\u201d Twenty-four parties submitted testimony<\/a> to the SWRCB and will participate in the hearing, including state and federal agencies, cities, water districts and environmental groups.
\n\u2022 Use of the Best Available Scientific Data: The legislation requires the SWRCB to use the \u201cbest available scientific information\u201d in its assessment of the Delta\u2019s needs. This means that the SWRCB should rely on the most recent and rigorously peer-reviewed studies relevant to the Delta ecosystem. It does not mean that the SWRCB should adopt \u201ccertainty\u201d as its evidentiary standard.
\n\u2022 Focus on the Specific Needs of the Delta: The legislation requires the SWRCB to focus on the basic flow requirements needed for a healthy Bay-Delta ecosystem without considering, at this point, how such flows would be implemented or the potential water supply impacts of such implementation. Indeed, the legislation is explicit that no water rights can be affected by the Board\u2019s public trust flow determination unless and until a full adjudicatory water right proceeding is held at a later date<\/p>\n

Links to a Successful Bay Delta Conservation Plan
\n<\/span>A key benefit to having the State Board address public trust flow needs at this point is to allow the timely incorporation of its recommendations into the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (\u201cBDCP\u201d). As my colleague Ann Hayden noted<\/a>, the BDCP Steering Committee has struggled to determine the instream flows needed to protect and recover the ecosystem, and this flows determination will be important information that must be incorporated into the BDCP before the plan is finalized later this year. As the BDCP Steering Committee analyzes the biological effects of a new conveyance, it is essential that the needs of the Delta ecosystem be fully taken into account.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Time to Get These Flows Right<\/span>
\nWith falling fish populations and the viability of the Delta ecosystem increasingly in question, the time is overdue to establish policies that guarantee a healthy and sustainable Delta ecosystem. That was one of the fundamental goals of 2009 water reform legislation, and now it is up to the SWRCB to restore the public\u2019s trust and show that the legislation will truly be implemented in a manner that sets California on a path to long-term water solutions.<\/p>\n

\n<\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark Hitchcock Legal Fellow, EDF EDF supported the 2009 water policy reform package passed by the California legislature, but we have always maintained that the true test of the legislation will be how effectively its provisions are implemented. An early test of the legislation begins on March 22-24, when the State Water Resources Control Board […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4273,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-432399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4273"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432399\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}