California Cornerstone

Monday, June 3, 2013

Jerry Cadagan - Monday, June 3 Water Clips

June 3, 2013

Stuart Leavenworth of the SacBee asks whether there should be a public vote on the Tunnels, and describes some of Jerry Meral's tactics (and note Leavenworth encourages LTEs on the subject; about 180 people now get Clips; it would be nice if the Bee got about 180 LTEs) -

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/02/5462324/browns-tunnel-tactics-spur-delta.html

the LA Times does a pretty bland editorial about water issues and BDCP without really saying much (but it's a good opportunity for Clipsters to make more profound comments) -

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-delta-20130531,0,1487889.story

once again Maven comes to the rescue by giving us an organized look at Chapters 8 & 9 of the latest BDCP release -

http://mavensnotebook.com/the-bdcp-road-map/project-costs-and-financing/

the concept of land retirement of marginal lands in the SJ Valley is making some progress -

http://www.hanfordsentinel.com/news/local/giant-solar-facility-proposed-for-kings-county/article_6fb2c050-ca0a-11e2-b4d5-001a4bcf887a.html

this River News-Herald story about the Delta Protection Commission vote to oppose BDCP does a good job of setting forth the points of views of a variety of parties -

http://rivernewsherald.org/articles2013/BDCP_5-29-2013.html

the Southern California Water Committee crows about the alleged $5 billion in "net" benefits of BDCP -

http://www.socalwater.org/whats-new/190-state-economic-study-of-bay-delta-conservation-plan-determines-5-billion-in-net-benefits-to-water-users

Dan Bacher writes about the May 30 press conference by 5 Congressional types opposed to the Tunnels -

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/31/1212963/-Members-of-Congress-Slam-Brown-s-Peripheral-Tunnel-Plan

Sacto Channel 3 features the Hemley family and the above press conference in this TV coverage of the war brewing over the Tunnels -

http://www.kcra.com/news/Courtland-finds-itself-in-middle-of-water-war/-/11797728/20367954/-/nk7he8/-/index.html#ixzz2Usx9o1bJ

and here's Garamendi's press release for the press conference -

https://garamendi.house.gov/press-release/california-members-congress-blast-peripheral-tunnel-plan

and Barbara B-P is featured in this SF KCBS radio coverage -

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/05/30/opposition-to-governors-water-conservation-plan-grows/

and Jeff Michael is featured on this SF radio program talking about the Tunnels (he's at about minute 17:50, with the host briefly talking a little water at 12 min.) -

http://www.talk910.com/cc-common/podcast/single_page.html?podcast=gil_gross&selected_podcast=Gil_Gross_5-30-13_Hr1_1369957170_26473.mp3#ixzz2UswEj44g

and one of Arnold's appointees to the Water Commission (a construction executive) shills for the Tunnels (and Cadagan, Pyke and Wade and others comment) -

http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_23363402/bay-delta-conservation-plan-system-tunnels-levee-reconstruction

according to this story Congressman LaMalfa is opposed to the Peripheral Tunnels -

http://www.willows-journal.com/articles/garamendi-10367-environmental-lamalfa.html

Manteca Councilman opposes Tunnels for fear local rivers will be tapped to replace the Delta water shipped south -

http://www.mantecabulletin.com/section/1/article/75614/

recall that at a recent joint state Senate committees hearing on BDCP perspectives Jason Peltier of Westlands gave his perspective on how much more Westlands was going to contribute; that's now a :51 second YouTube special -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR1gW2448sQ&feature=youtu.be

here's an update on the battle royal between San Diego Water Authority and the Met -

http://scoopsandiego.com/mission_times_courier/community_news/the-billion-fight-san-diego-s-water-supply/article_e68cc7c0-c820-11e2-8c48-001a4bcf6878.html

around Riverside water use is way down -

http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20130531-region-water-savings-surpass-expectations.ece

officials in Butte County challenging BuRec's FONSI on water transfers to the southland (it's the cumulative effects that need to be considered) -

http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_23375656/opposition-groundwater-transfers-accumulating

a good New York Times story about the tension between farmers and the oil industry over fracking

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/us/california-oil-and-ag-face-rift-on-fracking.html?ref=norimitsuonishi&_r=0

Jerry Cadagan - Friday, May 31 Water Clips

This is a 'Cut and Paste' of an excellent source of article links and commentary...I wish this was done on a blog with a link instead of email, it would make for a cleaner forward!!! Alas, I encourage you to subscribe to his email list for the daily scoop!

Karen

this excellent piece about salmon and the people involved with salmon deserves to be read in full by everyone, please !! (usually your Clips compiler reserves his comments for snarky little jabs at the Mike Wades of the world; this time I'd like to echo a thousand times the words of Brett Baker in this story about the new found (and long overdue) alliance between fishing interests and the old guard environmentalists. It's been a delight to watch, and it's making fighting these battles a hell of a lot easier - JKC) -

http://www.onearth.org/article/california-salmon-comeback?page=1

Maven does a thorough story on the latest financial information out of BDCP -

http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?_c=11gwes0yg0nlxv0&xid=11gwdmxqik9pliz&done=.11gwes0yg0nxxv0

Maven updates her roadmap to BDCP (Clips thinks that the Brown Administration should compensate Maven for making some sense out of the mish-mash of BDCP documents on the BDCP site) -

http://mavensnotebook.com/2013/05/30/the-bay-delta-conservation-plan-road-map-dont-get-lost-use-the-map/

CV Business Times covers the press conference held yesterday by a group of Northern California congressional representatives -

http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=23524

and the Lake County News covers it from a local perspective -

http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31467:california-members-of-congress-blast-bay-delta-conservation-plan-and-process&catid=1:latest&Itemid=197

Steven Greenhut questions Gov. Brown's judgment in being so obsessed with the Tunnels and HSR -

http://www.city-journal.org/2013/cjc0530sg.html

John Wildermuth (formerly with the SF Chronicle we think) points out that the Guv's financing plan for the Tunnels relies on the voters approving one or more GO bonds -

http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2013/05/browns-water-plan-faces-new-geographic-fight/

the Patch picks up a Bay Cities News Service release about the $24.5 billion cost (and here's another chance for you to join my friend Sam with an appropriate comment or question) -

http://livermore.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/price-tag-for-updated-state-water-supply-245-billion?yPos=2640

Dan Bacher writes about DSC's "disappointment" with the Westlands suit over the Delta Plan and Bill Jennings says, "you ain't seen nothing yet" -

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/05/31/18737714.php

David Zetland simplifies the question of under what circumstances Californians would support the $24.5 billion Tunnels project -

http://www.aguanomics.com/2013/05/657-per-californian.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+aguanomics+%28Aguanomics%29

a new UC Davis/Peter Moyle study says that climate change is a major threat to many native fish species, but Jon Rosenfield says we don't have to concede defeat (2 items) -

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/30/5459758/climate-change-study-82-percent.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-fish-climate-change-20130531,0,3475642.story

bill moving drinking water program from Dept Of Public Health to SWRCB passed by Assembly and over to Senate -

http://www.acwa.com/news/water-quality/assembly-approves-bill-moving-state’s-drinking-water-program-state-board

a Yurok/Hoopa tribal member writes about the Klamath dam removal controversy -

http://www.times-standard.com/opinion/ci_23351704/what-are-facts-about-kbra-dam-removal-and?IADID=Search-www.times-standard.com-www.times-standard.com

Steinberg's CEQA bill gets out of Senate and goes to Assembly (2 items) -

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/political/la-me-pc-environmental-rules-changed-20130529,0,7927404.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedly

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/05/california-senate-unanimously-backs-changes-to-ceqa.html

the Northern California Water Association suggests that the fish passage elements of CVPIA have been a success -

http://www.norcalwater.org/2013/05/28/celebrating-two-decades-of-cvpia-fish-passage-improvements-in-the-sacramento-valley/

Pacific Institute starts a new blog website here -

http://www.pacinst.org/blog/

as is often the case, this LA Times story about mechanical means of water conservation in the Ag sector misses some important points (but John Muir added them in the comments) -

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-drip-tape-irrigation-20130530,0,366934,full.story

the editor of the Redding paper puts a little perspective on the cost of the Tunnels and the idea of floating bonds to pay for it -

http://blogs.redding.com/bross/archives/2013/05/how-big-was-the.html

and the same guy gets Republican Congressman LaMalfa to talk about the Tunnels and water (LaMalfa sounds like another McClintock) -

http://blogs.redding.com/bross/archives/2013/05/norcal-democrat.html

CalTrout asks for helping getting the US Senate Energy etc. Committee to move the Klamath Settlement Agreements ahead -

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=28ecbd88a1a8b6ca927b578b8&id=5938e5c2d8&e=9522e45caf

Food & Water Watch starts a new coalition devoted to banning fracking in California -

http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/MessageViewer?dlv_id=18725&em_id=13781.0

and a guest columnist at the Modesto Bee says fracking poses an environmental danger to agriculture -

http://www.modbee.com/2013/05/30/2739885/fracking-likely-to-harm-water.html

apparently the legislation to impose a complete moratorium on fracking failed in the state Senate (this story is far from clear) -

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-31/california-lawmakers-turn-down-moratorium-on-fracking.html

Burt Wilson - If Our Water Rates are Raised Without Our Voting for the Tunnels, It's 'Taxation Without Representation"

If our water rates are raised without our voting for the tunnels, it's "taxation without representation"

By Burt Wilson

bwilson5404@sbcglobal.net

5-31-2013

      The BDCP released a new chapter the other day, this one on funding mechanisms for the Delta Twin Tunnels. To cut to the chase: the Capital Expenses for the construction of the two tunnels will be $19.9 billion and the Operation and Maintenance costs over a 50-year span will be $4.8 billion. So the grand total is $24.7 billion just for the tunnels.
   This price does not include the habitat restoration projects which will be paid for by unspent funds from past water bonds languishing in the Dept. of Water Resources Treasury and the (they hope) the $11-billion Water Bond which comes up for a vote in 2014.
     One thing we should be thinking about: How can Jerry Brown ban a public vote on the tunnels and still expect us to vote for a water bond that robs us of more money? The Water Bond's gotta go down to defeat, even if it is lowered as Sen. Steinberg is maneuvering to do right now. He knows it'll be dead on arrival the way it is.
     The BDCP Funding Chapter has some extremely important little asides.
One is "Details of the financing and repayment described in this section from the Authorized Entities and other sources are still being determined through on-going discussion between the state and federal governments and between the government, the state and federal water contractors and

other interests. Issues still under discussion include aligning the financing and repayment responsibilities with the "beneficiary pays" principle, among other related issues."

I'll explain what that means after the method of funding: The "Authorized Entities" are the six water contractors who have joined together for this funding event under the aegis of the "State and Federal Water Contractors Association." What will happen is the Dept. of Water Resources will issue bonds for the construction projects and those bonds will be financed by the SFWCA which will provide what is called a "Revenue Stream" to the DWR.

What is "still being determined" is: Who is going to pay for the debt service and how--which is usually half of the total cost of the project--and how much the water contractors can charge their water purchasers. This includes how much they can increase their charge to the oil companies for water for fracking.

This is part of the reason that Westlands is suing the Delta Stewardship Council to see who gets control of the project--Westlands wants it for the Water Contractors. After all, they are playing Santa for the DWR and they expect a return on their $19.9 billion investment. The DWR wants control because they are the established, traditional rate controllers. The newly-minted Delta Stewardship Council wants control because they were actually formed to be the new 800 lb. Gorilla in the Delta--lording it over everyone who will now be reporting to them.

Of course, in the final analysis, you and I are the "beneficiaries" who will have to "pay." But this brings up a rather important point: if we did not vote on this deal, raising our water rates could be viewed as de facto "Taxation without Representation."

So, write the governor and your congressperson and stay tuned. This is all gonna be a bumpy ride!

"To take water from where it is needed

and send it to where it is scarce, is

simply bad water policy."

--Henry George

Burt Wilson

Editor and Publisher.
Public Water News Service

Read about Burt Wilson Burt's Wikipedia page

Friday, April 26, 2013

April 26, 2013 Delta Water and News Links

Thursday, April 25, 2013

The Fox are Guarding the Henhouse - Save the California Delta Alliance

http://nodeltagates.com/2013/04/07/the-fox-are-guarding-the-henhouse/

(The Blog has comments as well.)

Adaptive Management – Sounds like a Good Approach on the Surface

The BDCP claims that they won’t harm Delta waterways because of a new adaptive management approach to water operations. Several management teams will oversee tunnel operations. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will also have seats on the management committees. An Adaptive Management Team will monitor conditions in the Delta and make recommendations for changes in water operations based on any ill effects that might crop up.

Will it work?

No – because no matter what harm the tunnels might cause, it will be virtually impossible to curtail water exports once the tunnels start operation. Because the main backers of the tunnels, the water contractors who will receive water deliveries from the tunnel and sell the water to their urban and agricultural customers, have seats on key committees and can veto decisions they don’t like escalating the decision all the way to either the Governor of California (for the State pump decisions) or the U.S. Secretary of the Interior who reports directly to the President (for Federal pump decisions).

No – That Won’t Work

“What that means,” said Michael Brodsky, Save the California Delta Alliance General Counsel, is that if the top official at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service makes a decision about protecting Salmon that the water contractors don’t like, they can cause the decision to be appealed up and up and up the ladder all the way to the Secretary of the Interior. That will take years at best.”
“In the mean time, the fish suffer.”
For more information, see the April 3, 2012 STCDA Press Release.

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Posted in Peripheral Canal/Tunnels

Water Contractors Wrest Control of Delta Tunnels from the DWR - Burt Wilson

Water contractors wrest control of Delta tunnels from the DWR

By Burt Wilson

bwilson5404@sbcglobal.net

4-25-2013

When the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) crashed and burned the first time, Gov. Brown brought his good friend Dr. Jerry Meral on board to straighten out the mess. Before Meral, the BDCP Board of Directors was made up of mostly water agency people--the MWD chairman, Corporate CEOs and hangers-on. Thus from the git-go this had all the earmarks of a private, not a public works, project. Meral, in his first showy move towards legitimacy, revised the board, got rid of many of the water people and replaced them with benign bodies--strictly cosmetic changes.

Meral's second action was to declare transparency as the order of the day. Every bit of BDCP action would be open to public scrutiny. But not three months after this charade, Meral was caught in flagrante delicto in secret meetings with water contractors, imploring them to fund the Delta tunnels and provide what is called a "revenue stream" for the DWR to build the twin cement monsters.

Meral did this for Gov. Jerry Brown to keep the Delta tunnel construction from having to rely on general obligation bonds which would require they be voted on by the public. Jerry Brown did not want to repeat 1982 when the Peripheral Canal campaign lost by a 2/3 vote of the people, hence the move towards private funding.

Recently, as reported half-way in the Sacramento Bee, Meral was caught in flagrante delicto again, holding private conferences with members of key water agencies. These agencies--Westlands Water District, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Santa Clara Valley Water District, Kern County Water Agency, San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority and the State Water Project Contractors Authority have come together as one agency--the State and Federal Water Contractors Agency (SFWCA). This new association effectively created the principle authorized funding agency for the tunnels and also signaled to anyone who could see it that they were attempting to bring both the fed's Central Valley Project (CVP) and the State Water Project (SWP) under their control.

As you can well imagine, this band of brothers thinks that if they are going to foot the bill for the revenue stream that will allow the DWR to build the twin tunnels, they should have some say in the design and construction of said tunnels. The DWR, the biggest of a whole host of bloated state agencies, is used to having its own way with water in California and wants to see all design and construction under its control. Three years ago it dropped a mild bomb by announcing that it would hire 5,336 new employees when the permit to build was granted. This would give it more water-grabbing leverage than even Mr. Mullholland had!

And so this mini-drama between the DWR and the SFWCA is playing out now as the BDCP limps and staggers toward its questionable denouement.

The Bee quoted DWR Director Bruce Cowin as saying, "The (water) contractors are very concerned, and so are we, that we build this with world-class-type management. They are naturally concerned, as stakeholders, that if they are going to step up and pay these costs, that they have a significant voice." It's expected that Cowin would put a smiley-face on such a significant division of interests. That's what big-time operators do when they know they've lost leverage in a big fight. The upshot is that the DWR and the SFWCA have drawn up a "joint powers" agreement with the DWR Director as chairman of this new entity, but having no power at all since all decisions will be made by majority vote. And guess who's in the majority.

This was bound to happen because the SFWCA is not out to finance the twin tunnels out of the goodness of their hearts. They want a return on their investment and that means control of how much water can be diverted and at what times and who it can be sold to, i.e, everything directed towards maximizing profit for the water contractors.

Much is at stake. With the water contractors now able to sell water at any price to the oil companies for fracking purposes, upping the ante for agriculture by increasing the cost per acre foot and increasing local water rates ("the beneficiaries pay"-Delta Stewardship Council), we will see our food, natural gas and oil prices rise in concert with the rise in profits of the water contractors. So don't be surprised if sometime soon you find the water contractors standing out in the street yelling the state motto.

"Eureka! I have found it!"

I was on the media staff of the "No on 9" campaign against the peripheral canal in 1982. We won by a 2/3 vote statewide and stopped the canal. Voters knew then that it was just another watergrab just as poeple know that today's move to construct Delta tunnels is just another watergrab. You know it too.

Sincerely,

Burt Wilson
Editor and Publisher.
Public Water News Service

Read about Burt Wilson Burt's Wikipedia page

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

April 23, 2013 Delta Water and News Links

The mission of the Maddy Institute, according to its website (www.Maddyinstitute.org) is to inspire citizen participation, elevate government performance, provide non-partisan analysis and assist in providing solutions for public policy issues important to the region, state and nation.

and this:

Several individuals prominent in the food industry are on the Maddy Institute Board of Directors, including Westlands rancher/grower John Harris of Harris Farms, Melissa Poole of Paramount Farms (owned by Beverly Hills billionaire Stewart Resnick), Jim Coleman of E & J Gallo, as well as Rep. JIm Costa and former Republican assemblyman Mike Villines.

Non-partisan analysis my backside....

Litigation News

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Calendar
Joint Committee Hearing on BDCP Set for April 30th
http://www.acwa.com/news/state-legislation/joint-legislative-committee-hearing-bdcp-set-april-30

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