Friends of the River has sent a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation and others saying that the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) is “not a permissible project under the Endangered Species Act because it would adversely modify critical habitat for five endangered and threatened species.”
The tunnels will divert the water from the Sacramento River before it even reaches the Delta, impacting and adversely modifying the designated critical habitat for winter-run Chinook salmon, spring-run Chinook salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and Delta smelt.
The letter concludes:
” … The reduction of water and flows and increase in water temperature are adverse modifications of critical habitat. The BDCP ignores all the conservation measures, including critical habitat designations, NMFS and USFWS have taken to protect five federally listed species. If approved, the BDCP will undo years of conservation efforts, adversely modify critical habitat, and further jeopardize the continued existence of five listed species. Approval of the BDCP would violate the ESA. Consequently, the BDCP Water Tunnels are not a permissible project under the ESA.“
Read the full text of the letter here: Friends+of+the+River+Comment+Letter+9.25.2013-1
