PRESS RELEASE: C-WIN Challenges the DCP - It Violates Both the Public Interest and the Law
May 14, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
C-WIN Files Protest Disputing the Legality of Newsom’s Single Water Tunnel Scheme
The California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) has filed a protest to the State Water Resources Control Board confirming the Newsom Administration’s Delta Conveyance Project (DCP)—a massive and costly water tunnel—ignores the public interest, violates the law, would hurt ratepayers and damage the environment.
The DCP would shunt Sacramento River water under the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta to Southern California farms and cities, wreaking havoc on already beleaguered fisheries, spiking water rates for consumers, and burdening California ratepayers with unauthorized debt likely to be over $20 billion.
C-WIN’s filing lays the foundation for anticipated evidentiary hearings on the project; opposing a Department of Water Resources (DWR) petition for a change in the State Water Project’s (SWP) point of diversion, which is necessary for the construction of the DCP. DWR concedes the Board must approve its petition for the project to move forward.
C-WIN’s evidence focuses on four critical issues:
The DCP Does Not Serve the Public Interest
• Though the DCP would burden ratepayers and taxpayers, neither the DWR nor the SWP’s largest contractor, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, have produced a comprehensive estimate of tunnel costs and rate increases. This January a state court in Sacramento found DWR’s tunnel bond resolutions unlawful, siding with C-WIN, Delta counties, and other challengers.
• The DCP would fail at its primary goal of State Water Project reliability, removing more water from a Delta watershed already in crisis, while ignoring the interests of other stakeholders, including tribal and Delta communities, commercial fisherfolk, and all Californians affected by accelerating climate change. Because the Board receives federal funds, it must uphold Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which stipulates commitment to tribes, racial equity, and effective climate change response.
• To meet its public interest obligations, the Board must support reliable water supplies for communities served by the SWP, apply the public interest in its totality as required by the state constitution, hire technical experts on the public interest as authorized by Water Code 111 (a), and accommodate evidence and testimony on all aspects of the public interest.
The DWR Petition Cannot Be Lawfully Granted
• DWR is basing the petition on expired rights. The agency failed to meet water rights permit deadlines for use and construction and resolve protests filed years ago, leaving no legal basis for the current petition.
• The petition is not within the Water Board’s jurisdiction. DWR must prove to the Board it “…will not injure any other legal user of water.” It cannot legally conduct such due diligence due to DWR’s failure to meet previous diversion project requirements.
The DCP Contravenes the Law and Violates the Public Trust
• The DCP does not conform to the 2009 Delta Reform Act, which requires restoration of the Delta ecosystem and reduced reliance on the Delta for water supply.
• It would constitute a wasteful and unreasonable use of water, contravening the state constitution.
• It would violate the state’s duty to protect the public trust whenever feasible.
The DCP Would Create Adverse Environmental Impact
• The DCP would maintain the current levels of diversions that have been documented as unsustainable and environmentally harmful by the Board’s own analysts.
• The project would allow for even greater diversions during drought years, assuring devastating environmental harm.
• No mitigation measures exist that can ameliorate the impacts resulting from such excessive and unreasonable diversions of freshwater flows.
“It is time for the State Water Board to end the illegal and preferential treatment of DWR’s expired water rights,” Roger Moore, C-WIN’s lead attorney stated. “There cannot be a fair hearing without fulfilling the state's duties to protect ratepayers, communities, and the environment."
Max Gomberg, C-WIN’s Senior Policy Consultant, stated: “The State Water Board should reflect on its institutional legacy and put this zombie project to rest once and for all.”
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