CSPA |
| Your 501(c)(3) tax deductible cash donations are desperately needed if the fight for our fisheries is to continue. Read how you can donate! |
 Enter your Email address to sign up for our Weekly Newsletter  For Email Marketing you can trust |
More News
CSPA Files Protests Over Illegal Water Transfers
by Bill Jennings, Executive Director, CSPA
June 5, 2009 -- The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) has filed a series of protests with the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) over requests by Sacramento Valley water agencies and farmers for temporary changes in their water rights permits that would enable them to sell water for export to southern California. Water would be transferred through the Delta for export.
The transfers threaten to further damage salmon, steelhead and Delta pelagic fisheries by increasing the amount of water pumped through the State Water Project (SWP) and the Central Valley Project (CVP) facilities in the south Delta. Increased pumping will degrade existing poor water quality and increase entrainment of fish in the pumps.
The transfer requests also seek to add points of diversion of both the SWP and CVP. The State Board approved a consolidation of the SWP/CVP places-of-use in an evidentiary hearing last month. As a result, SWP water can be delivered to Westlands and CVP water can be delivered to Los Angles for the first time. CSPA opposed the consolidation as illegal and without legislative authorization and is preparing to appeal the Board's decision. In any case, the total amount of the proposed transfers is more than 60,000 acre-feet and far exceeds the 16,000 acre-foot cap the State Board placed on through-Delta transfers pursuant to the consolidation decision.
The water transfers would be conveyed under the umbrella of the Drought Water Bank, on the basis of a declaration of emergency by the Governor of drought conditions. CSPA has pointed out that drought is a common condition in California, occurring over a third of the time. Present water shortages are largely a result of the systematic over-allocation of water and poor management choices by water agencies that attempted to deliver normal water supplies during the first two years of the drought.
Governor Schwarzenegger's alleged emergency cannot be justified based on precipitation: the May 1, 2009 Department of Water Resources Bulletin 120 forecasted 80% of average precipitation statewide, and 70% of average runoff, for Water Year 2009. The May 26, 2009 update to Bulletin 120 showed substantially higher predicted runoff for most areas of the state, based on significant rainfall in the month of May.
The cumulative effects of the proposed transfers have never been analyzed and CSPA believes the CEQA exemption is illegal. CSPA, the Butte Environmental Council and California Water Impact Network are already suing the Department of Water Resources over the Drought Water Bank's CEQA exemption because of the failure to conduct environmental review. Environmental review is one of the major cornerstones of protecting fisheries and the public interest.
We would expect the State Board to schedule a hearing regarding the protests. Should the Board approve the changes without a hearing, CSPA and C-WIN are prepared to challenge the approvals.
Garden Highway Mutual transfer
Reclamation District 1004 transfer
Reclamation District 108 transfer
Sacramento River Ranch transfer
South Sutter Water District transfer