Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3909 April 10-24 | Page 28

26 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.