• Show Time: DWR Files Petition to Change Water Rights for Delta Tunnel Despite Pending Lawsuit and Widespread Opposition

    On February 22, 2024, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) submitted a water rights petition for change in point of diversion to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) for the Delta Conveyance Project also known as the Delta tunnel. DWR submitted this petition despite broad opposition to the project from environmental advocacy groups,…

  • CSPA Submits Comments on Proposed Bay-Delta Plan Update

    On Friday, January 19, 2024, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and AquAlliance submitted comments on the State Water Resources Control Board’s (State Board’s) proposed changes to the Bay-Delta Plan. The State Board proposed these changes in a Draft Staff Report (Report) released on September 28, 2023. The stated objective of the Plan update is to provide…

  • The Delta Conveyance Project: Either We Survive Together or Perish Together

    On December 8th, 2023, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) issued the Final Environmental Impact Report (Final EIR) for its proposed Delta Conveyance Project, informally called the Delta tunnel. During the required comment period following DWR’s release of its Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR), the public, native tribes, and non-governmental organizations submitted 700 letters…

  • California’s White Sturgeon: An Endangered Species within the Foreseeable Future

    On November 30th, 2023, San Francisco Baykeeper, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), the Bay Institute, and Restore the Delta petitioned the California Fish and Game Commission to list the state’s white sturgeon as “threatened” under the California Endangered Species Act. The coalition also petitioned United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and NOAA Fisheries to…

  • Nitrate Pollution: One Place Environmental Justice and Environmental Advocacy Meet

    In 2021, the Central Coast Regional Water Board (Regional Board) adopted Agricultural Order 4.0. This order contained measures to reduce nitrate pollution in groundwater caused by the agricultural sector. Specifically, Order 4.0 set numeric limits to regulate the amount of chemical nitrate fertilizers growers could use in their fields. In September 2023, the State Water…