On 11 June 2014, the Environmental Water Caucus, of which CSPA is a member, submitted 259 pages of scathingly critical detailed comments on the Draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and associated Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS). CSPA was integrally involved in preparation of the extensive comments and will continue to develop additional comments to be submitted by the 29 July deadline.
BDCP’s scheme of constructing twin tunnels equivalent to an eight-lane expressway under the Delta to divert the Sacramento River to irrigate the vast agricultural plantations of the San Joaquin Valley would be a disaster for the Delta’s pelagic and anadromous fisheries.
CSPA’s Executive Director Bill Jennings characterized the plan and EIR/EIS as “an omelet of distortion and half-truth intended to mislead and deceive.” Analysis of the documents reveals that the plan would increase water exports, decrease Delta outflow, seriously impair the low salinity habitat crucial for pelagic species, degrade water quality, increase selenium and mercury levels in fish and reduce the smolt survival rates for winter-run, spring-run and Sacramento and San Joaquin River fall-run Chinook salmon.