Proposed decision favors California in delta tunnel project dispute

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — A draft decision issued Monday on appeals to California’s Delta Conveyance Project appears to hand the state a major win in its battle to make the massive project a reality.

However, while discarding most of the appeals against the project, the recommendation to the Delta Stewardship Council calls for sending two issues about the project back to the state Department of Water Resources for reconsideration. It also wants yearly reports from the department about its outreach efforts to tribes and various agencies.

The draft decision comes in advance of a Thursday meeting of the stewardship council. A formal vote on the decision by the council is expected then.

The upcoming vote stems from an appeal to a certificate of consistency for the project. The council heard that appeal in February and has 60 days to issue its decision.

That deadline is this weekend.

The project calls for two intake facilities by the Sacramento River, near the town of Hood, that could handle 6,000 cubic feet of water per second. A tunnel some 45 miles in length would carry water south to the Bethany Reservoir and ultimately to Southern California. State officials have said the project is needed to capture more water as a changing climate reduces rainfall.

It’s expected to cost over $20 billion.

Opponents — which included governmental entities, conservation groups and Native American tribes — argued the certificate, which stated the project was consistent with the Delta plan, was faulty. That plan has two coequal goals: creating a reliable, statewide water supply while protecting and restoring the Delta ecosystem that preserves its values as a place.

Members of the Pear Fair, which happens every summer, said the proposed intake facilities would destroy their event. The 13-year construction period would impact not only the fair but also agricultural land and the families that have farmed it for generations.

The draft decision calls for denying a majority of the appeals. However, it points to two issues that should return to the department for further review.

One is positive impacts project facilities could have on non-native, invasive golden mussels.

“Appellant San Joaquin County has shown that the record does not support the finding that the department fully considered how the DCP could improve the habitat conditions for the golden mussel and how the department would avoid or mitigate improved habitat conditions for the golden mussel in a way that appropriately protects the ecosystem,” the draft decision authors state.

The second issue recommended for further examination is focused on Sacramento County’s Harvest Water project.

That local project is called the state’s largest agricultural water recycling project by the Sacramento Area Sewer District. The district has said it will provide some 50,000 acre-feet each year of reliable, recycled water to agricultural land and habitats.

The department failed to show that a delta tunnel project facility would avoid or reduce conflict with Harvest Water.

Stating that opponents didn’t meet their burden, the draft decision’s authors say the council still has interest in several aspects of the project. It calls for the water department to issue an annual report starting March 1, 2028, which would detail updates on those issues.

The issues include the department’s communication with environmental justice communities, tribes and local agencies; the department’s work to survey and develop treatment plans for cultural areas; and updates to construction and its work toward reducing noise and traffic.

Contacted Monday afternoon, a council representative told Courthouse News that council members and staff couldn’t comment until after the vote.

The water department couldn’t be reached for comment.