Sacramento County Opposes the State Bay Delta Conservation Plan
News Release
July 24, 2012 Contact: Diane Margetts
(916) 874-4517
SACRAMENTO COUNTY OPPOSES THE STATE BAY DELTA CONSERVATION PLAN
Plan for massive water project fails to address ongoing County concerns
Sacramento CA: Today the County of Sacramento Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution opposing the State of California’s draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). The plan proposes alternatives and mitigation for the construction of a major water conveyance system in the Delta with little regard to the ongoing concerns expressed by the County of Sacramento.
The currently proposed draft BDCP conveyance alternatives and implementation plan fails to meet the co-equal goals of providing a more reliable water supply for California andprotecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta ecosystem; fails to adhere to the State's policy of reducing reliance on the Delta; and fails to address the County’s needs for enforceable protections and assurances over the long term. Ongoing concerns for the County of Sacramento with regard to the BDCP proposal include:
- Impacts to short- and long-term prosperity and economic structure of the communities in the Delta, including lost business and governance revenues and the increased cost of compliance for environmental and habitat protection acts
- Economic protection for impacts to lost agricultural production and associated impacts as prime agricultural land is converted to natural habitat
- Area of origin protection and water rights for long-term use of Sacramento River water
- Provisions for impacts to Delta infrastructure, such as public roads, railways, and utilities, including natural gas wells and water lines
Board of Supervisor’s Chairman, Don Nottoli, said, “Sacramento County has remained engaged through-out the BDCP process and has consistently expressed concerns with the scale of the proposed BCDP project alternatives and the potential lasting and irreversible impacts on this county, our Delta communities, the local economy, and existing water rights. The County is also concerned with improving the health of the Delta ecosystem and maintaining a reliable water supply and has worked cooperatively in efforts to help find solutions to these important issues; however, the BDCP process thus far has done little to address local concerns. At this point, the State is offering no enforceable assurances that local needs and impacts will be addressed and instead is poised to forge ahead with a plan which has far too many unanswered questions regarding its viability and long-term impacts on our community and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Importantly, for these and other reasons, Sacramento County opposes the current BDCP.”
700 H Street, Suite 765- Sacramento, California 95814 phone (916) 874-2691