Bay-Delta Members of Congress respond to BDCP Statement on Transparency

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, December 19, 2011

CONTACT:
Amy Peake (Miller) 202-225-2095
Austin Vevurka (Thompson) 202-225-3311
Alana Juteau (Matsui) 202-225-7163
Lauren Smith (McNerney) 202-225-1947
Donald Lathbury (Garamendi) 202-570-3178

Bay-Delta Members of Congress respond to BDCP Statement on Transparency
Members had advocated for a more open and transparent BDCP process

California Members of Congress who have led the effort to make the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) a more transparent and accountable process reacted today to the statement by Governor Brown and U.S. Interior Secretary Salazar.

U.S. Representatives George Miller (CA-7), Mike Thompson (CA-1), Doris Matsui (CA-5), Jerry McNerney (CA-11) and John Garamendi (CA-10) wrote to Salazar in October, calling for the rescission of a signed MOA that was developed behind closed doors. In response, the process was opened up to brief public comment. The lawmakers submitted several public comments, as did hundreds of other individuals and local, state, and national organizations.

The lawmakers released the following statements after today's announcement:

While the Secretary and the Governor are right that the Bay Delta Conservation Plan must be more open and transparent than it has been to date, they still haven t addressed the plan's fatal flaw: at the end of the day, this planning process is tainted as long as it's beholden to the special interests who are funding it, said Miller. Sanding off some of the rough edges won t cut it. That's a real problem for California, and for the hundreds of people and organizations who wrote in to request further changes including water and wastewater utilities, local officials, hundreds of conservation organizations, commercial and recreational fishermen, the League of Women Voters, and other stakeholders across California. A new plan for the Bay-Delta won t work if the water exporters in the Central Valley and Southern California maintain their undue influence over what must be a public process. Today's announcement is just one small step in what must be a serious effort to improve the BDCP. It's going to take real leadership from the federal and state governments to truly re-balance this process.

Today's announced agreement by Governor Brown and Secretary Salazar is nothing more than lipstick on a pig, said Thompson. This backroom deal creates a flawed process for moving forward that is not based on science and puts the interests of South-of-Delta water contractors before our farmers and fisherman. If this moves forward, families and small businesses that depend on the Delta would have their livelihood stripped away and the Delta's diverse wildlife would be destroyed. We need a BDCP plan that is transparent and based on sound science so that our Delta communities, businesses, wildlife and environment are not harmed.

Unfortunately, the revisions made to the MOA do not address the potential detrimental consequences of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to Northern California, said Matsui. Northern California, and the Sacramento region in particular, continue to be left out of the real decision making process. I am particularly concerned about impacts of the BDCP to the Sacramento region's flood protection. Without a study of the impacts of the proposed changes in the Yolo Bypass there is no way to determine how our flood system will change. Additionally, the plan calls for five water intakes to be constructed in Sacramento County, but no study has been done of these intakes that will forever change our landscape and river flow. Further, the indirect impact of guaranteeing water for South of Delta exporters, the beneficiaries of the BDCP, could have a tremendous impact on Northern Californians who do not stand to benefit from the BDCP. I am not satisfied that the BDCP has been properly vetted, or that its consequences for Sacramento and the entire Northern California region thoroughly examined.

I am disappointed and upset that the Department of the Interior has decided to move forward with this Memorandum of Agreement, said McNerney. Despite a few changes, the MOA remains deeply flawed and is an affront to the people of the Delta communities. From its inception, the Bay Delta Plan has been crafted by, and for, water exporters from Southern California. They have used their economic power to influence the state and federal governments, and the Delta communities will suffer as a result. Make no mistake, the Delta communities and I will never accept a Bay Delta Plan that includes a peripheral canal that was conceived without our input. I will continue to stand with the families, farmers, and small business owners of the San Joaquin Delta whose livelihoods would be destroyed by a peripheral canal.

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan process remains deeply flawed, and the voices of Northern California communities, farmers, fishermen, and recreation enthusiasts are being shut out from the conversation, Congressman Garamendi said. I will continue to raise concerns about this process so long as it continues to be controlled by well-connected water receivers who are more interested in draining the Sacramento River and Delta and less interested in smart, comprehensive water policies.

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