Jerry McNerney says BDCP announcement is 'very small step forward'

Jerry McNerney says BDCP announcement is 'very small step forward'

by Dan Bacher

Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-11) said he "appreciates" the state and federal government announcement Tuesday to release Delta science studies, but emphasized that it is only "a very small step forward."

The U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Department of Water Resources announced that “key” documents regarding the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) Memorandum of Agreement will be made public via the internet to all parties at the same time.

Delta residents, fishermen, environmentalists, Indian Tribes, family farmers and environmental justice advocates have blasted the BDCP for being a plan to build a peripheral canal or tunnel, designed to export more water to corporate agribusiness and southern California, under the guise of a "Habitat Conservation Plan."

"Having access to documents does not guarantee that the concerns of the Delta communities will be considered, and I am resolved to fight against any plan that includes a peripheral canal," said McNerney.

“The entire process has been conducted in secrecy and without the Delta region represented," he stated. "We need a more steadfast guarantee that our input will be included in the Bay Delta Plan. Any other outcome could cost the Delta communities millions of dollars and countless jobs."

“I continue to stand with the farmers, families and businesses that depend on a healthy Delta for their livelihoods and way of life. A healthy Delta is vital to the health and well-being of our region. Much more must be done to level the playing field and ensure that the needs of the Delta communities are respected," he concluded.

In a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on October 24, McNerney and U.S. Reps. George Miller (CA-7), Mike Thompson (CA-1), Doris Matsui (CA-5) ) and John Garamendi (CA-10) asked that the agreement between the Department and water agencies be rescinded.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.

"In short, we believe that the MOA must withdrawn, and the state and federal agencies must dramatically recalibrate the BDCP process," the Representatives wrote.

Delta advocates believe the peripheral canal, if built, would lead to the extinction of Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River chinook salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon, Sacramento splittail and other imperiled fish species.

The Brown and Obama administrations authorized the export of a record 6.5 million acre-feet of water from the Delta in water year 2011. The previous record, set during the Schwarzenegger and Bush administrations, was 6.3 million acre-feet in 2005.

The record exports have resulted in unprecedented numbers of fish killed at the state and federal pumps. The state and federal governments have to date "salvaged" over 11 million fish, including 8 million Sacramento splitttail, but scientific studies reveal that actual loss in the pumping facilities is actually 5 to 10 times the amount of fish "salvaged." (http://blogs.alternet.org/danbacher/2011/09/09/over-11-million-fish-salvaged-in-delta-death-pumps-since-january-1).