As a responsible agency under CEQA as mandated in the Delta Reform Act, the Delta Stewardship Council has submitted comments on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan’s EIR/S.
Since the Delta Plan recommends successful completion of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan by 2014, the Council wants to contribute to that success, says the letter, as well as ensure that the EIR/EIS reflects key CEQA provisions and the unique requirements that are required of it by the Delta Reform Act.
Some highlights of the comments include:
- Overwhelming amount of information: ” … We share the Independent Science Board’s June 24 plea for summaries at the opening of each chapter and readable comparisons of the alternatives’ environmental impacts, including tables that compare alternatives’ effects in terms of readily understood measures … ” (pg. 3)
- Comprehensive review of alternatives as required by Water Code Section 85320(b): ” … Your agencies should consider how this standard interacts with NEPA’s requirement that all alternatives must be analyzed and presented to similar levels of detail.” (pg. 4)
- Flow criteria: The Council recognizes that the 2010 State Water Resources Control Board’s flow criteria report for the Delta has no regulatory effect as the report specified flows solely to protect fish and wildlife beneficial uses without any balancing of other beneficial uses that may also be in the public interest; nonetheless ” … it would be helpful if the EIR/S … explains how the 2010 flow criteria have been used, as the Delta Reform Act intended, in “informing planning decisions for the … Bay Delta Conservation Plan … ” (pg. 5-6)
- Unique mandate in Delta Reform Act for EIR: According to the legislation, the EIR/S must comprehensively review and analyze the ‘operational requirements and flows necessary under a reasonable range of hydrologic conditions [that] will identify the remaining water available for export and other beneficial uses’: ” … We could not find such an analysis in the EIR/S or its supporting material. This is an atypical requirement of an EIR/S and probably warrants conversation with us and the relevant trustee agencies on how best to address it. … ” (pg. 6)
The review of the 18,000 page document was completed by Council staff and their consultants in six weeks; the comments have not been approved by the Council, and therefore reflect only the views of the staff and consultants.
Click here to read the comments.
For more information on the Delta Stewardship Council’s role as a responsible agency, click here for Deputy Attorney General Tara Mueller’s memo, The Delta Stewardship Council’s “Responsible Agency” Role Regarding the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.
