LOIS HENRY: Saving the delta, moving the water -- some good news
| Wednesday, Dec 21 2011 02:30 AM
Last Updated Wednesday, Dec 21 2011 02:30 AM
Bay Delta Conservation Plan
You can go online to see documents and understand the structure and mission of the BDCP at:
There may actually be a tiny pin prick of light at the end of a long, long, long tunnel to stabilize water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. And, no, the light is not a train.
I mean real, true progress in which environmental, ag and urban interests can all move forward together to restore the delta's ecosystem and add greater certainty to California's water future.
It's call the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, or BDCP, which I'll explain in a bit.
The Governor's office has shown itself to be aggressively engaged in its support of the BDCP, even managing to light a fire under the ever-plodding federal government.
Earlier this week, that commitment came through loud and clear in a statement from Gov. Jerry Brown's office that strongly supported the BDCP.
Brown was adamant in his support.
"We shouldn't wait for a natural disaster to force our hand," he said, in reference to the delta's fragile levee system that could crumble in a massive earthquake, crippling central and southern California's ag and drinking water supplies.
Meanwhile, our own Sen. Michael Rubio, D-Bakersfield, has gotten into the act with two bills that could prove helpful.
As always, here's your spoonful of background first.
Since 2007, representatives of water districts and the state and federal government have been toiling away on the BDCP.
It's a slow, tedious process under which the delta's environment is studied and all the different players' needs are analyzed.
At the end, it's hoped, there will be a specific plan for restoration. Water users, including the Kern County Water Agency, will be issued permits giving them certainty over their water supplies.
Certainty is worth a lot. A whole lot.
This gets a little tricky but the actual permit part of the BDCP is the Delta Habitat Conservation and Conveyance Program (DHCCP). (The conveyance part of the title is critical.)
Contractors who would get water through these two processes were asked to fund the studies and environmental documents.
They initially paid $140 million in 2008.
It wasn't enough and they're now being asked to fork over another $100 million to finish the job. Kern's water districts would pay about $12 million of that jointly.
The "conveyance" part of the title refers to moving water around, now under, the delta through a canal or tunnel.
That would be an extra $15 billion or so, also to by paid by water users.
But that's much farther down the road. Right now, districts are mulling over whether to pay that extra $100 million.
Most of the dozen or so local districts that contract through the Kern County Water Agency for state water told me they will likely come up the money for this next round with the BDCP.
"It's perceived as the only shot we have of doing something significant to solve the delta issues," said Will Boschman, general manager of Semitropic Water District.
But the districts want to see progress in more concrete terms.
How much longer will planning go on? Assuming a conveyance system is approved, how much greater reliability will it give them on water supplies? And even if it's approved, is there any surety a conveyance system will be built?
Which is where Rubio's bills come in.
One, SB 250, proposes a timeline for the planning to be done in Feb. 2013, which mirrors a bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein at the federal level.
"We all work better when we have a clear deadline," he said. Hey, has he been talking to my boss?
Rubio also plans to introduce a bill in January that would fast track legal challenges to any conveyance system approved in the BDCP. It's those legal challenges that gnaw at water districts. They fear lawsuits could delay a canal or tunnel indefinitely even as they're paying through the nose to fund it.
For reference, think football.
Recently, legislators approved a truncated litigation schedule for a proposed NFL stadium in Los Angeles (different from the environmental exemptions granted to another NFL stadium in the City of Industry that passed in 2009).
Rubio's bill would apply that same law to a BDCP water conveyance system.
"This would be the most important projects in the country," Rubio said of a potential new conveyance system to move water in California. "It's certainly the most importance statewide project."
The idea -- which is controversial -- is to expedite legal challenged by shortening the time allowed for filing and moving them straight into the State Appeals Court system.
Lawsuits aren't prohibited. But they will be fast-tracked.
"It's transparent, said Rubio. "It's not moving in secret and we look forward to the day we argue in favor of it," he said.
Opinions expressed in this column are those of Lois Henry, not The Bakersfield Californian. Her column appears Wednesdays and Sundays. Comment at http://www.bakersfield.com, call her at 395-7373 or e-mail lhenry@bakersfield.com
