CSPA Opposes Weakening of Delta Standards

February 13, 2015.  The State Water Project and Central Valley Project have doubled down on last year’s disastrous rollback of Delta flow and water quality standards. The Department of Water Resources and the Bureau of Reclamation, operators of the state and federal projects, submitted a Temporary Urgency Change Petition to the State Water Board on January 27, 2015. On February 3, 2015, the State Water Board granted the same reductions in Delta standards that it granted during last year’s drought conditions, but denied a request that would have allowed additional south Delta pumping under conditions of reduced Delta outflow.

On February 13, CSPA filed an Objection, Petition for Reconsideration, and Petition for Hearing in opposition to the Change Petition and Change Order. The filing describes record low numbers of Delta smelt and the loss of salmon in the Sacramento River that occurred as a result of last year’s reduction of Delta standards. Included with the Objection are a series of documents that demonstrate the decline of Delta fisheries over the past several years. In the short term, CSPA advocates for a simple action: maintain Delta standards during the drought.

CSPA et al Protest, Objection Petition

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