| Secretary of Natural Resources John Laird on November 5 lauded the release of seven-member Independent Scientific Review Panel's report on the "Effects Analysis component" of the controversial Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), a plan to build a peripheral canal under the guise of a habitat conservation plan.
"The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is without a doubt one of the largest and most complex science-based ecosystem restoration programs ever undertaken," Laird claimed in a statement. "Having a panel of well-respected, independent scientists peer review the adequacy of the many vital science components of this plan and publicly, openly presenting those findings will help set the stage for the many important conversations we will have with stakeholders."
"Also, this independent, peer review helps create a more dynamic, sound plan that will stand the test of nature and time," he gushed.
"This independent panel's recommendations establish an important framework for discussion about how to meet one of the dual goals. We will continue to work with the team to ensure sound scientific justifications for any potential actions. Fish, farms and the 25 million Californians who depend on the Delta for their water deserve nothing less," Laird concluded.
Laird neglected to point out that the only reason why the science plan was released was because of massive outrage by an unprecedented 242 fishing, tribal and environmental organizations, 11 Members of Congress and 17 California Legislators about the lack of transparency and the bias towards water contractors in the BDCP process.
On November 16, an amazing 242 fishing, tribal and environmental organizations signed onto a letter to Laird and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that slammed the top-down process dominated by corporate agribusiness and water agency interests that export water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. To read the entire Environmental Water Caucus letter, go to: http://www.ewccalifornia.org/r...
"The MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) was negotiated behind closed doors and only serves to reinforce the growing awareness that the BDCP is biased in favor of the export water contractor's agenda to increase exports from the Delta and its connected rivers, despite the documented negative impacts those exports have had on endangered fish species, Delta habitats, water quality and public trust values," the letter stated.
In a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on October 24, U.S. Representatives Jerry McNerney (CA-11), George Miller (CA-7), Mike Thompson (CA-1), Doris Matsui (CA-5) ) and John Garamendi (CA-10) asked that the "Memorandum of Agreement" between the Department and water agencies be rescinded. They also said the process must be opened up to include key stakeholders left out of the discussions, including Bay Area, Delta and coastal communities, farmers, businesses, and fishermen. (http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/24/18694808.php)
Eleven Members of Congress also slammed the BDCP MOA in a letter to the US Bureau of Reclamation on November 16 (http://blogs.alternet.org/danbacher/2011/11/17/salmon-advocates-praise-members-of-congress-for-delta-water-stand.) The Representatives included George Miller, Jackie Speier, Barbara Lee, Pete Stark, Lynne Woolsey, Pete Stark, Kurt Schrader, Earl Blumenauer, Sam Farr, Michael Thompson and Anna Eshoo.
Even more disturbing than Laird's failure to mention the reason for the document's release is Laird's statement, "We will continue to work with the team to ensure sound scientific justifications for any potential actions." So the science is being used to "justify" already planned "potential actions" - the peripheral canal or tunnel in this completely rigged process?
Laird, like officials in the Schwarzenegger administration that preceded him, is doing his best to greenwash the destruction of the Delta by promoting the Bay Delta Conservation Plan - better described as the "Bad Delta Canal Plan."
Delta advocates oppose the peripheral canal's construction because it will inevitably result in the export of more water from the imperiled Bay-Delta Estuary to Southern California and corporate agribusiness interests on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. The peripheral canal, if built, will likely lead to the extinction of Central Valley steelhead, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, Sacramento River chinook salmon, Sacramento splittail and green sturgeon.
In addition, a review of the independent science board's membership shows a glaring omission: the lack of any tribal scientists, in spite of the fact that the Yurok Tribe's Natural Resources Department alone has 70 staff in the peak of the fishing season (http://www.deltacouncil.ca.gov/science-board/delta-isb-members). In this way, the BDCP mimics Arnold Schwarzenegger's Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Science Advisory Team that failed to include any tribal scientists.
While Governor Jerry Brown in September appointed a Tribal Advisor "to strengthen communication and collaboration between California state government and Native American Tribes," there are no tribal scientists on either the Delta or MLPA science panels.
Of course, the BDCP Management Committee, in a classic example of environmental injustice, has excluded all of the stakeholders who care about restoring the Delta, including California Indian Tribes, Delta residents, recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, family farmers and environmental justice advocates.
See the report here: http://www.deltacouncil.ca.gov...
Learn about the Independent Science Review board here: http://deltacouncil.ca.gov/sci... |
