Hear what the science and experts tell us:

Date:   Friday, June 15

Location:  

El Dorado Irrigation District, 2890 Mosquito Rd, Placerville, CA  95667    (530) 622-4513

June Agenda                                                                                                                  

 RSVP to: ginny.mcwra@gmail.com  (530) 308-4225

(Seating is Limited)

Ecosystem Management Strategy for the Sierra Nevada

 -  Connecting Land and Water - 

Jim Branham, Executive Director

Sierra Nevada Conservancy

Presenter and Moderator

Roger Bales, PhD

Director, Sierra Nevada Research Institute

Professor, School of Engineering

University of California, Merced

 

Barry Hill, Regional Hydrologist

USDA-Forest Service,

Pacific Southwest Region

 

 William Stewart, PhD

Cooperative Ext. Forest Management Specialist

Director, Center for Forestry

University of California, Berkeley

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Eric Alvarez

May 14, 2012 (916) 445-5383 (o) / (916) 275-7923 (c)
eric.alvarez@deltacouncil.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO – The Delta Stewardship Council staff today transmitted the final staff draft Delta Plan to the seven-member Council for review, comment and, ultimately, adoption. “With the help of the comments and advice we received from many interested parties, our final staff draft Delta Plan presents a common sense approach to achieving the coequal goals of restoring the Delta ecosystem and providing a reliable water supply for California,” Council Executive Officer Joe Grindstaff said. “We expect the Council to make revisions, and make a final decision after an appropriate environmental review.” The final staff draft Delta Plan is the last in a series of six drafts presented to the Council over the past 14 months. It reflects public comments made on all five staff drafts and is informed by analysis contained in the draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Report.  The final staff draft Delta Plan reflects changes to policies and recommendations regarding Delta levee priorities, flow objectives, land development and water quality. It also recognizes the role of various agencies involved in the Delta; and makes recommendations to ensure that responsibilities are coordinated to wisely use limited resources. The Delta Plan interagency committee, which will be established by the Council, will include agencies and others that have a role in the Delta.

The Delta Plan is designed to:
• Increase water supply reliability through better water management across California, more conservation and diversification of water supplies, including reduced reliance on water from the Delta watershed, and improved Delta conveyance and expansion of groundwater and surface storage. The Delta Plan recognizes the importance of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and urges its completion and successful permitting.

•Improve the Delta ecosystem by protecting five high-priority restoration areas from development. The Delta Plan also recommends actions to reduce pollution, invasive species and more. The Delta Plan sets a deadline for the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to update flow objectives for the major rivers and tributaries of the Delta. The Delta Plan emphasizes SWRCB actions to deal with high-priority Delta-specific water quality problems, too.

• Protect “Delta-as-a-Place” by seeking its designation as a National Heritage Area; protecting agriculture by locating urban development in cities rather than on rural farmlands; conserving legacy communities like Locke and Clarksburg; and encouraging recreation and tourism.

• Reduce risk by improving levees and bypasses and requiring new development in the Delta floodplain to have adequate flood protection.

• Ensure fairness by encouraging the financing principles of beneficiaries pay for benefits received and stressors pay for problems caused. “While there is no simple low-cost plan that gives everyone what they want, it is possible for California to have the water it needs and at the same time protect the ecosystem,” Grindstaff said. “The plan identifies a path forward that develops a more reliable water supply, significantly improves the delta ecosystem while protecting the special character of Delta as it changes into the future.”

The Council will first review the final staff draft Delta Plan at its regularly-scheduled meeting on May 24 in West Sacramento, and will discuss it in detail with the Council at the June 14-15 meeting.
The full staff draft of the Delta Plan and the Executive Summary can be found at this web address:
http://deltacouncil.ca.gov/delta-plan/current-draft-of-delta-plan.

Delta Stewardship Council

On May 10, 2012, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the following appointments to the State Water Resources Control Board:

Felicia Marcus, 56, of Emeryville, has been appointed to the State Water Resources Control Board. Marcus has been western director at the Natural Resources Defense Council since 2008 and was executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Trust for Public Land from 2001 to 2008. She served as the administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 from 1993 to 2001. Marcus was a commissioner on the City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works from 1989 to 1993 and served as president of the Board from 1991 to 1993. She has been a member of the Delta Stewardship Council since 2010. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $128,109. Marcus is a Democrat.

Steven Moore, 45, of Sausalito, has been appointed to the State Water Resources Control Board. Moore has been a civil and sanitary engineer at Nute Engineering since 2006 and has been a member of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board since 2008. He served in multiple positions at the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board from 1999 to 2006 and 1992 to 1996, including resources control engineer. He was a senior engineer at Montgomery Watson Consulting Engineers from 1997 to 1998. Moore was an environmental analyst and biologist for Earth Metrics Inc. from 1989 to 1991. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $128,109. Moore is a Democrat.

Charles Hoppin, of Yuba City, will remain chair of the State Water Resources Control Board. Hoppin was appointed to the Board in 2006 and has served as chair since 2009. He is a partner in a family farm operation in Sutter and Yolo Counties.

Office of the Governor  - webpage        Governor Appointments

By Roberta Long

Mountain Democrat correspondent

The Mountain Counties Water Resources Association is exactly what the name describes. It is an association of 57 districts, agencies, cities, counties, professional consultants and regional agricultural interests that are dedicated to the management of water resources in California’s mountain counties…..(more)…Mountain Counties grows in stature-MD

Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) urges the State Water Resources Control Board….. “Until large-scale restoration is in place, a realistic, more natural flow regime should be used to protect, restore, and enhance the Delta ecosystem.”

This statement was referenced in the April 25, 2012 Delta Stewardship Council letter to the State Water Resources Control Board in response to the Board’s :

Supplemental Notice of Preparation and Notice of Scoping Meeting for Environmental
Documentation for the Update and Implementation of the Water Quality Control Plan for
the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary:  Comprehensive Review

Relevant Correspondence:

DSC Letter to State Water Board April 18 2012

MCWRA letter to Joe Grindstaff May 2 2012

NSWA Letter to State Water Board April 2012

MCWRA Executive Member Placer County Water Agency provides comments to the State Water Board:

PCWA Letter to State Water Board April 2012

The General Membership Meeting Date has been Changed.

The new meeting date is  Friday, June 15

Location: El Dorado Irrigation District, Placerville

Time:  Registration and Networking 9:30 am   – -    Meeting starts at 10:00 am

(seating is limited)  RSVP to     ginny.mcwra@gmail.com

MORNING PROGRAM

Ditch Sustainability Study

BARBARA BALEN

President, Tuolumne Utilities District Board of Directors and MCWRA Board Member

AFTERNOON PROGRAM

Ecosystem Management Strategy for the Sierra Nevada

 -  Connecting Land and Water - 

JIM BRANHAM  Presenter and Program Moderator

Executive Director, Sierra Nevada Conservancy

________________________________________________________________________________

ROGER C BALES, PhD                                       WILLIAM STEWART, PhD

Director, Sierra Nevada Research Institute   Cooperative Ext. Forest Management Specialist

Professor, School of Engineering                        Director, Center for Forestry

University of California, Merced                           University of California, Berkeley

other invited speakers

 MORE PROGRAM INFORMATION TO COME SOON

A Water Alliance for the North State (NSWA)

More than 150 cities, counties, water suppliers, businesses, and community groups in Northern California have recently come together around our common interests in water resources to form the North State Water Alliance  (tri-fold brochure)

The Alliance is an urban-rural partnership

• Mountain Counties Water Resources Association
• Northern California Water Resources Association
• Regional Water Authority
• Sacramento Metro Chamber
• Sacramento Area of Council of Governments

NSWA Supporters

Committed to statewide water solutions that protect the economy, environment and quality of life in Northern California.  With all of the various pressures on Northern California water resources, the Alliance has coalesced around these important principles:

•  Water rights priorities and area-of-origin assurances must be recognized and protected to ensure reliable supplies for all water uses and environmental needs in our region.
• Stakeholders in the North State must be given the opportunity to be fully included in and consulted on all aspects of development of a Delta solution and other state and federal water policies that affect the region.
• A Delta solution and other state or federal actions must honor and not reduce or preempt the authority and responsibilities of cities, counties, and other local agencies to take actions that further the interests of the jurisdiction and its citizens.
• We will support a Delta solution that:
• is based on sound science to ensure it is effective and implemented in an equitable manner,
• requires the beneficiaries of any actions associated with a Delta solution to fully fund the costs of such actions, and
• avoids or fully mitigates the negative economic, environmental, or societal impacts to areas in our region

MCWRA Resolution Adopting NSWA Policy Priniciples

March 30. 2012 cover letter to each California State Legislator  legislator Introduction Letter

For more information, visit the Alliance website at northstatewater.org. 

Little Hoover Commission to hold Public Hearing on Governor’s Reorganization Plan to transfer the Delta Stewardship Council to the Natural Resources Agency.

The public hearing will be held Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 9 a.m

April 25 Commission Agenda 

Employment Development Department Auditorium, 722 Capitol Mall, Sacramento

Background:

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. sent a far-reaching reorganization plan to the Little Hoover Commission that cuts the number of state agencies from 12 to 10, eliminates duplicative and unnecessary entities and consolidates those with similar roles and functions, including:

 ”The Delta Stewardship Council will transfer to the Natural Resources Agency. This will help improve communication  and coordination regarding the State’s water policies, and  it will consolidate administrative functions.”

page 6 of the

Governor Letter to the Little Hoover Commission

Little Hoover Commission Role in Governor’s Reorganization Process

See Full Reorganizational Public Hearing Schedule

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. sent a far-reaching reorganization plan to the Little Hoover Commission that cuts the number of state agencies from 12 to 10, eliminates duplicative and unnecessary entities and consolidates those with similar roles and functions, including:

 ”The Delta Stewardship Council will transfer to the Natural Resources Agency. This will help improve communication  and coordination regarding the State’s water policies, and  it will consolidate administrative functions.”

page 6 of the

Governor Letter to the Little Hoover Commission

The next meeting of the California Water Commission will take place on Wednesday, April 18, in Sacramento.

• Bay Delta Conservation Plan Overview
• Update on the Quantification of Public Benefits project
• State Water Resources Control Board Priorities for Public Benefits of Water Supply Projects
• El Dorado County Water Agency – Alder Creek Reservoir Project
• Consideration of Final Agricultural Water Measurement Regulations

Meeting Agenda 

The California Water Commission consists of nine members appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation. Its historical role includes advising the Director of the Department of Water Resources on matters within the Department’s jurisdiction, approving rules and regulations, and monitoring and reporting on the construction of the State Water Project.