BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1797
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 23, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared William Huffman, Chair
AB 1797 (B. Berryhill) - As Introduced: February 10, 2010
SUBJECT : State Water Resources Development System: Delta
Corridors Plan
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to
consider a specific alternative for conveying water through the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Specifically, this bill requires DWR to undertake an expedited
evaluation and feasibility study to consider implementing a
project called the "Delta Corridors Plan" as an alternative
means of conveying water through the Delta and improving south
Delta salinity.
EXISTING LAW requires DWR, as the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) lead agency for the Bay Delta Conservation
Plan (BDCP) to consider a reasonable range of conveyance
alternatives for exporting Delta water, including a
through-Delta alternative, in its environmental review for the
BDCP project.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. However, DWR's preliminary estimate
is that it would need a budget augmentation of $750,000 by July
1, 2010 in order to complete the required study by January 1,
2012.
COMMENTS : There is wide-spread recognition that the Sacramento
San-Joaquin Delta Estuary is in decline with crashing fisheries
and unreliable water supplies. Senate Bill 1 (Simitian) from
the 7th Extraordinary Session codified the coequal goals of
providing a more reliable water supply for California while
protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta ecosystem. SB 1
also recognized the existing BDCP process, a stakeholder-driven
effort to draft a conservation plan which will provide the basis
for State Water Project and federal Central Valley Project
incidental take authorizations under the state and federal
endangered species acts.
Currently, the BDCP process is focused on a tunnel type
conveyance option as part of the "preferred project alternative"
AB 1797
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and has discarded a through-Delta alternative that was similar
to the Delta Corridors Plan. However, SB 1 now requires DWR,
the lead agency on the CEQA Environmental Impact Report for
BDCP, to revisit a through-Delta alternative as part of a
reasonable range of alternatives.
South Delta Water Agency (SDWA), however, has continued to
promote a particular type of through-delta alternative that
isolates San Joaquin River outflows in Old River from Sacramento
River water diverted to the pumps via Middle River via a series
of barriers, gates, fish screens, etc. claiming it would be less
expensive and more effective that current configurations being
moved forward in the BDCP process. In November 2009, SDWA
released a report prepared by ICF Jones & Stokes entitled The
Delta Corridors Plan and Its Potential Benefits.
However, opponents of this legislation feel that since DWR is
already required to study various conveyance alternatives,
including a through-Delta alternative, this legislation would
create new and duplicative requirements and would divert the
already-limited resources available to DWR.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Desert Water Agency
East Valley Water District
Valley Ag Water Coalition
Analysis Prepared by : Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096