Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force Praised by Steering Committee Member

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Contact:
Laura Harnish, 510-290-5794 (cell) lharnish@environmentaldefense.org
Spreck Rosekrans, 415-293-6050 or  510-393 4593 (cell) srosekrans@environmentaldefense.org   
Jesus Mena, 415-293-6097 or 415-948-4220 (cell) jemena@environmentaldefense.org 
(San Francisco – December 17, 2007) Governor Schwarzenegger’s Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force has taken a giant step forward today by highlighting both the estuary’s immediate and long-term priorities and the need to establish an independent governance structure to manage the state’s water supplies while protecting the Delta itself.  That’s the conclusion of a leading environmental group that is a member of the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan steering committee, which is developing a long term plan in 2008 to protect and restore the Delta ecosystem while providing reliable water supply to California’s farms and cities.
 
“We applaud the Task Force’s work, especially for acknowledging the irrefutable fact that water diversions are a major cause of the environmental collapse in the Delta and the recommendation that a revitalized Delta ecosystem will require a reduction in diversions,” said Laura Harnish, Deputy Regional Director for Environmental Defense. “It will be essential to create a governance structure that integrates water supply decisions with the requirements of the Delta ecosystem. We look forward to working with the Task Force as it develops its implementation plan.”
 
Harnish said the most difficult task will be developing a comprehensive and fiscally responsible finance plan that protects public resources, while ensuring that stakeholders pay for the water supply benefits they receive. The next step for the Task Force is to develop an implementation plan, due to be completed in October 2008, which is expected to contain detailed recommendations for both governance and finance.
 
The Delta is the largest estuary on the west coast and is home to more than 750 animal and plant species, including some that are listed for protection under the federal and state Endangered Species Acts. As much as 15% of California’s total municipal and agricultural water supply passes through the Delta. The Delta’s environment and communities, as well as the state’s water supply system, are threatened by the Delta’s notoriously weak levee system. The Task Force report lays out 12 “integrated and linked recommendations” and seven “near-term actions” as part of a restoration plan that may take a decade or more to complete.
 
“The Task Force has identified near-term actions that are broadly supported and urgently needed,” said Spreck Rosekrans, senior analyst for Environmental Defense. “These critical actions include repairing our most vulnerable levees to prevent a New Orleans-type catastrophe in the Delta and restoring habitat for fish, including endangered species, and wildlife.
 
“The longer term recommendations related to conveyance alternatives and additional storage will require serious study,” continued Rosekrans. “At this point, we know neither who would benefit from and pay for the proposed projects, nor how their operating guidelines would ensure that the environment would be protected from further harm. Discussing these essential parameters within a stakeholder forum is far preferable to making a commitment to build the projects through a bond proposal and arguing about the parameters later.”
 
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