Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3909 April 10-24 | Page 28
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April 10-24, 2020
Delta Tunnel Public
Comment Period
Extended to April 17, but
the Project Continues
T
here is a little bit of good
news amidst all the bad
news about the COVID-19 global
pandemic — the Department of
Water Resources has extended its
new deadline for public comment
on the scoping period for the Delta
Tunnel to 5 p.m. on Friday, April
17, 2020 and cancelled the Stake-
holder Engagement Committee
meeting scheduled for March 25.
In a statement, DWR said
“The nature of the COVID-19
pandemic is rapidly evolving. As
individuals, organizations and
local governments are focusing
their attention on the safety of their
communities in response to this
health emergency, the Department
of Water Resources (DWR) will
be extending the scoping period
for the Delta Conveyance Project
by four weeks. The new deadline
for public comment will be at 5:00
p.m. on Friday, April 17, 2020.”
Please also note that the Stake-
holder Engagement Committee
meeting scheduled for next week
has been cancelled. The Delta
Conveyance Design and Construc-
tion Authority will work to arrange
for remote participation for both
committee members and the public
for future meetings.
Given the dynamic nature of
the situation, DWR will re-eval-
uate public participation needs
frequently and will provide addi-
tional updates as new information
becomes available.”
Regina Chichizola, co-director of
Save California Salmon, praised
the decision by DWR to extend the
new deadline to comment on the
Delta Tunnel to April 17.
“Thank you to the Department of
Water Resources. Extending the
deadline is the right thing to do,”
Chichizola said.
A petition is at http://chng.it/
FkvpVkpN. Talking points are at
https://www.californiasalmon.org/
alerts.
Likewise, Barbara Barrigan-Par-
rilla, Executive Director of Restore
the Delta, thanked DWR for
extending this deadline during the
COVID-19 pandemic and advised
people on how to comment:
How to Comment:
All comments received during
the scoping period will be consid-
ered in the development of the
Draft EIR. DWR is seeking public
input on the scope of issues to be
addressed in the EIR and input
about alternatives that meet the
project’s objectives. Comments
may be submitted in several ways:
• Email: DeltaConveyanc-
eScoping@water.ca.gov
• Mail: Department of Water
Resources, Attn: Renee Rodriguez,
P.O. Box 942836, Sacramento, CA
94236
• Fillable online form: View form
The NOP and related availability
and informational materials can be
viewed online or at one of these
locations.
Comments must be received
electronically or postmarked on or
before April 17, 2020.
On March 16,, Donis Whaley
of the Delta Defenders wrote to ,
DWR Director Karla Nemeth and
members of Delta Conveyance
Authority’s Board requesting
them “to delay further Delta tunnel
stakeholder engagement activities
until the national and state public
health emergency is more under
control.”
The letter stated, :
We ask the question, why is the
DCA and DWR continuing to
rush forward with the Delta tunnel
engineering design? Why does
the Delta stakeholder engagement
process have to be pushed forward
during a public health emergency,
regardless of what Delta residents
and Delta stakeholders are dealing
with?
Delta counties, Delta cities,
Delta legacy communities, Delta
businesses, Delta families, and
organizations representing Delta
interests are all currently dealing
with a rapidly emerging public
health crisis. New COVID-19
cases caused by community trans-
mission are announced daily in
Sacramento County, and in the Bay
Area. Classes and public events
have been cancelled, including
fundraising events for Delta orga-
nizations. Bars, brew pubs and
winery tasting rooms are closing,
per Governor Newsom’s guidance.
Restaurants are trying to figure
out how to stay in business. Other
businesses are dealing with loss
of income and shifting employees
to homework, or laying them
off. Families are implementing
social distancing, and starting
to see economic impacts from
the crisis. Some are dealing with
potential exposures or even respi-
ratory infections and a shortage
of COVID-19 test kits. There are
VOL.39 • ISS. 9
By Dan Bacher
runs on disinfecting supplies, paper
products, and even food at local
stores.
We respectfully ask you to delay
further Delta stakeholder engage-
ment activities until the national
and state public health emergency
is more under control. We also
respectfully submit that a delay
is warranted anyway. A delay
will allow the DCA’s engineering
design process and the Delta stake-
holder engagement process to be
informed by alternatives submitted
as part of the CEQA scoping.”
Following receipt of their letter,
DWR Director Karla Nemeth
responded that the DCA was
exploring continuing meetings by
teleconference:
“..the DCA is exploring ways in
which to enable virtual meetings
that can best serve the complexity
of information under discussion.
They will be in touch with you as
alternative plans become available
over the next few weeks.”
“Late Monday night, the DCA
did cancel the March 25, 2020
Delta Stakeholder Engagement
Committee meeting, but stated that
the DCA would discuss restarting
the process with Delta Stakeholder
Engagement Committee members
in two week,” said Whaley.
Unfortunately, with the exception
of cancellation of the stakeholders
meeting and the extension of the
public comment period to April 17,
the Delta Tunnel process continues
full-speed ahead.
For example, the Delta Convey-
ance Design and Construction
Authority Board held their meeting
on March 19, at 1:30 p.m. via
the web. I tried to listen into the
meeting, but the conference access
information that I was provided
wasn’t working for me until the
very end of the call.
Section 7 on page 73 of the
meeting packet shows the aggres-
sive schedule for the Delta tunnel
design -- the tunnel and shaft
design started last May and is
supposed to be finished by May
2020.
The document states “The
program is running four weeks
behind schedule based on deliver-
able status. The engineering teams
has ramped up their resources and
will continue recovering the time
in the upcoming month to maintain
our April 1 milestone for ‘Alterna-
tive Configuration and Characteris-
tics Information.’”
The DCA is proposing the
next Stakeholder Engagement
Committee meetings on April 22
and May 27, in spite of the public
health emergency, according to
Deirdre Des Jardins of California
Water Research.
There is no doubt that with the
planning for the Delta Tunnel,
it’s appears that it’s business as
usual for the Department of Water
Resources and the DCA for its
Delta Tunnel planning during the
COVID19-Pandemic.
Garamendi Urges DWR to
Consider Western Route for
Delta Conveyance
Then on March 22, Congressman
John Garamendi (D-CA), who
represents the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta in Congress, sent a
letter to Director Karla Nemeth of
the California Department of Water
Resources (DWR) objecting to the
agency’s lack of consideration of
the “western route” for the new
Delta Conveyance Project.
To date, DWR has failed to
examine a possible western route
for the project, even though the
western route could more effec-
tively preserve the ecology of the
Delta, said Garamendi. According
to a map released by DWR, the
state is focusing solely on tunnel
routes under the central and eastern
Delta for the conveyance project.
“DWR is failing Delta commu-
nities by refusing to evaluate a
potential western route for the
Delta Conveyance Project,”
Garamendi said.
“In April 2019, Governor
Newsom directed state agencies
to reassess plans to modernize
conveyance through the Sacra-
mento-San Joaquin Delta. DWR
has failed to fulfill the Governor’s
directive by refusing to consider
the western route. Significant work
has already been done to evaluate
the western route. Failure by
DWR to study the pros and cons
of a western route relative to other
options is an abdication of the
agency’s responsibility to the Delta
and Californians. I will continue to
urge DWR to consider this option
throughout its planning for the
Delta Conveyance Project.”
I will post updates on the Delta
Tunnel process and related water
and fish issues as they become
available.