BILL ANALYSIS
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2009-2010 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: AJR 38 HEARING DATE: August 10, 2010
AUTHOR: Caballero URGENCY: No
VERSION: May 24, 2010 CONSULTANT: Dennis O'Connor
DUAL REFERRAL: No FISCAL: No
SUBJECT: Public resources: Two-Gates Fish Protection
Demonstration Project.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
The 2-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project is a proposed
US Bureau of Reclamation project, developed by the Metropolitan
Water District of Southern California (MWDSC) and the San Luis &
Delta-Mendota Water Authority (SL&DMWA), designed to test
alternative ways of protecting Delta Smelt. This 5-year
experiment is intended to modify flows in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta to reduce entrainment of smelt and other sensitive
aquatic species in Central Valley Project and State Water
Project export pumps. The Project would include installing two
gate facilities: one at Old River between Holland Tract and
Bacon Island and one at Connection Slough between Mandeville
Island and Bacon Island. Construction at these sites would
include removing peat material from the channel bottom and
replacing it with a layer of gravel, fabricating "Butterfly"
gates mounted on two barges, sinking the barges in place,
installing sheet pilling, and constructing boat ramps.
One of the bills in the water package passed last November was
SBX7 1 (Simitian). Among other things, that bill established
requirements for early actions in the Delta. Among those early
actions was a requirement for Department of Water Resources to
coordinate with the Department of Fish and Game, the State Water
Resources Control Board, the California regional water quality
control boards, and the State Lands Commission efforts to
cooperate with the United States Bureau of Reclamation to
construct and implement the Two-Gates Fish Protection
Demonstration Project by December 1, 2010.
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SBX7 1 also appropriated $28 million of Proposition 84 funds to
help finance the 2-gates project.
On December 22, 2009, the bureau sent MWDSC and SL&DMWA a letter
stating, "Based on our review, and in consideration of several
factors, we have concluded that the underlying scientific
premise of the [2-gates] project needs to be established before
the projects can go forward, including the installation of the
proposed gates." On the same day, the US Department of Interior
(DOI) released the "Interim Federal Action Plan for the
California Bay-Delta". That plan also noted the need for
additional science regarding the 2-gates project, and called for
"the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), to immediately undertake and
implement a new project ... to evaluate the smelt-turbidity
relationship, with the hope that the project can provide
information more quickly than waiting for the installation of
the 2-Gates project."
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PROPOSED LAW
This resolution would make a number of statements regarding the
challenges of water management in the Delta, and would resolve
"that the Legislature requests the United States Department of
the Interior to prioritize completion of its study of the
Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta."
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
Supporters assert that the 2-Gates project represent the best
option for not only investigating the effects of turbidity on
smelt, but for providing a solution to the conflicts that result
in reduced Delta exports. They support AJR 38 to keep the
federal government's "feet to the fire" to complete the
necessary studies and to implement the project as soon as
practicable.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
Opponents argue that the science does not support moving forward
with the project. They question why the state would attempt to
restart a project determined not to be viable and one that has
serious impacts on the Delta and its communities. In
particular, they note that the project, by blocking Old River
and Connection Slough, would pose serious navigation problems,
not just for recreational boaters, but for emergency marine
response crews as well.
COMMENTS
"Prioritize Completion" of the Study? The resolution asks DOI
"to prioritize completion of its study of the Two-Gates Fish
Protection Demonstration Project." Webster's defines prioritize
to mean "to arrange (items) in order of priority." DOI has, it
just hasn't given the project the priority that the supporters
would like.
SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS: None
SUPPORT
Association of California Water Agencies
Chambers of Commerce Alliance (Ventura & Santa Barbara Counties)
City of San Diego
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Southern California Water Committee
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OPPOSITION
Contra Costa County
Recreational Boaters of California
Sacramento County
Solano County
Yolo County
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