Sacramento County’s Policies and Response To The

Delta Vision and Bay-Delta Conservation Plan

Agenda

• What is Delta Vision and BDCP?• Background, Setting, and Problem

Summary• Delta History for Context• Delta Vision• Delta Vision Strategic Plan• Bay Delta Conservation Plan• County Policies and Response

Beginnings of Delta Vision• Established by Governor’s Executive Order on

September 17, 2006• Charged with developing a durable vision for

sustainable management of the Delta over the long term

• Restore and maintain identified functions and values important to the Delta’s environmental quality and economic and social well-being of the state

• Seven members appointed to serve by the Governor

Bay-Delta Conservation Plan

• Multi-species habitat conservation plan for the Delta

• Proposed by the water exporters and the state and federal water contractors

• Involves converting Delta agricultural lands to wetlands

• Little or no participation by affected land owners or local government

Delta Facts• Confluence of Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers• Delta islands provide habitat for many animal and plant

species• Source of irrigation water for seven million acres of

agricultural land• Municipal and industrial water supply for two-thirds of

California residents• Delta is a key conveyance point for the states two largest

water projects that transport water to Central and Southern CA– Central Valley Project– State Water Project

Delta Watershed Boundary

Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers

Delta Problems

• For decades the Delta has been in decline– Delta quality is getting worse– Islands are subsiding– Numerous species are threatened– Levees are deteriorating

• Conflicts among those within the Delta, those who use water exported from the Delta, and the watershed (upstream)

Delta 1860’s

Land Surface Below Sea Level

Reclamation Districts Map

Modern Delta• 700 mile maze of sloughs, canals, waterways

and islands• Home to more than 500,000 people, Contains

500,000 acres of agriculture• Provides habitat for 700 native plant and

animal species• Provides water for more than 25 million

Californians, 3 million acres of agriculture

Water conveyed through the Delta sustains $400 billion of CA’s statewide economy

Federal Central Valley Project (CVP)

• Authorized in 1937• Consists of 20 dams, canals, 11 million acre

feet of storage (includes Shasta, Folsom)• Delivers 7 million acre feet contract water

annually• Contracts

– 85% Agriculture, 15% Urban

Area of Origin Protections

State Water Project

• State Electorate approved Bonds in 1960• Facilities include Oroville Dam, canals• Water contracts for 4.2 million acre feet to

29 public water agencies• Deliveries limited to 2.3 million by SWRCB

D-1485 in 1978

State and Federal

Water Project Facilities

Historic Diversion from Within the Delta

Delta Protections

• Delta Protection Act (1959)• Delta Protection Commission (1992)

– Purpose is to ensure that “development” as defined by the Delta Protection Act and associated General Plans is consistent with the Resource Management Plan developed by the Commission

– 24 member Commission comprised of local elected and State appointed members

Delta Protection

Commission

Reverse Flow

State’s Effort to Solve Water Supply Problems (CalFed)

1994 – Formation of CalFed, 18 state and federal agencies came together to address Delta conditions

– June 1994: Framework Agreement– December 2004: Bay-Delta Accord

CalFed Principles1. Ecosystem Quality2. Water Supply3. Water Quality4. Vulnerability of Delta Functions

Beginnings of Delta Vision• Established by Governor’s Executive Order on

September 17, 2006• Charged with developing a durable vision for

sustainable management of the Delta over the long term

• Restore and maintain identified functions and values important to the Delta’s environmental quality and economic and social well-being of the state

• Seven members appointed to serve by the Governor

How the Delta Vision Was Developed

• Task Force held 14 days of public meetings• A 43-member Stakeholder Coordination Group met

publicly for 15 days, and provided input to the Task Force

• Task Force recommendations were informed by Delta Science Advisors, other state and federal agencies and public testimony

• Three drafts and a final version of Our Vision for the California Delta were published as a result of this process

The Delta Vision

• An independent approach to the crisis in the Delta resulted in 12 recommendations and 7 near-term actions

• Recommendations are integrated and linked together – they are not designed to be “cherry picked”

Delta Vision Recommendations

1) “Delta ecosystem and reliable water supply are the primary, co-equal goals for sustainable management of the Delta.”

Delta Vision Recommendations

2) “The California Delta is a unique and valued area, warranting recognition and special legal status…”

3) “The Delta ecosystem must function as part of a healthy estuary.”

4) “California’s water supply is limited and must be managed with significantly more efficiency to be adequate for its future population, growing economy, and vital environment.”

Delta Vision Recommendations

5) “The foundation for policymaking about California water resources must be the longstanding principles of ‘reasonable use’ and ‘public trust’; these principles are particularly important and applicable to the Delta.”

Public Trust Doctrine

Embodies the principle that the State as sovereign owns “all of its navigable water ways and the lands lying beneath them ‘as trustee of a public trust for the benefit of the people’”

Delta Vision Recommendations 6) “The goals of conservation, efficiency, and sustainable

use must drive California water policies.”

7) “A revitalized Delta ecosystem will require reduced diversions, or changes in patterns and timing of those diversions, upstream, within the Delta and exported from the Delta at critical times.”

8) ”New facilities for conveyance and storage, and better linkage between the two, are needed to better manage California’s water resources, the estuary and exports.”

DELTA

CONVEYANCE

Delta Vision Recommendations

9) “Major investments in the California Delta and the statewide water management system must be consistent with, and integrate specific policies in this vision. In particular, these strategic investments must strengthen selected levees, improve floodplain management, and improve water circulation and quality.”

10) “It is essential to have an independent body with authority to achieve the co-equal goals … while also recognizing the importance of the Delta as a unique and valued area.”

Delta Vision Recommendations

11) “Discouraging inappropriate urbanization of the Delta is critical both to preserve the Delta’s unique character and to ensure adequate public safety.”

12) “Institutions and policies for the Delta should be designed for resiliency and adaptation.”

Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force

Public Meetings

August 18-28, 2008

The Delta Vision

Strategic Plan

Delta Vision Task Force Strategic Plan Implementation

1. Water Supply ReliabilityStrategies 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

2. EcosystemStrategies 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10

3. The Delta as a PlaceStrategy 11

4. Governance and FinanceStrategies 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18

Delta Vision Task Force Strategic Plan ImplementationWater Supply Reliability

Strategy 1 Vastly Improve the Efficient Use of WaterStrategy 2 Optimize Regional Self Sufficiency by

Increasing the Diversity of Local and Regional Water Supplies

Strategy 3 Integrate Central Valley Flood Management with Water Supply Planning

Strategy 4 Improve Reliability and Predictability of Water Diverted from the Delta Watershed to SupportCo-Equal Values

Strategy 5 Improve Water Quality for Drinking Water, Agriculture, and the Ecosystem

Strategies for Water Supply

Delta Vision Task Force Strategic Plan ImplementationEcosystem Improvements

Strategy 6 Restore Extensive Interconnected HabitatsStrategy 7 Restore Delta Flows and Channels to Reflect

California Climate Patterns and Support a Healthy Delta Estuary

Strategy 8 Reduce Ecosystem StressorsStrategy 9 Establish an Effective Adaptive Management

Framework to Support Ecosystem Revitalization

Strategy 10 Establish Multi-Purpose Migratory Corridors Along Selected Delta River Channels

Delta Vision Task Force Strategic Plan Implementation

The Delta as a Place

Strategy 11 Design the Delta as a Unique and Valued Place

Delta Vision Task Force Strategic Plan Implementation

Governance and Finance

Strategy 12 Achieve Levels of Emergency Protection Consistent with Federal and State Policies

Strategy 13 Adopt an Overall Policy for Levee Design, Investment, Financing Priorities, and Maintenance

Strategy 14 Ensure Appropriate Land Uses in the DeltaStrategy 15 Create New Governance System to Manage

the Co-Equal Value sand Other State Interests of the Delta

Delta Vision Task Force Strategic Plan Implementation

Governance and Finance (con’t)

Strategy 16 Create a California Delta Ecosystem and Water Plan to Ensure Flexibility and Consistency of Action Among State, Federal, and Local Entities

Strategy 17 Finance the Activities Called for in the California Delta Ecosystem and Water Plan Through User Fees and Other Effective and Transparent Tools

Strategy 18 Improve the Compliance of Diversions and Use of Water With All Applicable Laws, Regulations, and Constitutional Principles

Finance the Activities Called for in the California Delta Ecosystem and Water Plan through User Fees and Other

Effective and Transparent Financing Tools

• Private beneficiaries pay for benefits; public pays for broader benefits• Funding based on full compliance with CDEW plan and Council decisions• Costs

– Isolated conveyance $4.2 billion: Sacramento County side $7.2 billion: Yolo County side

– Ecosystem revitalization $2.5 billion

– Levee improvements $20 billion

• Next 10-15 year costs– $12-24 billion with no estimates for annual operating costs

• Who pays?– Water contractors (exporters will pay for conveyance)– Beneficiaries – Create multiple revenue streams with layering– Funding provides mechanism to assure consistency with CDEW plan

Governance and Finance: strategy 17

Bay-Delta Conservation Plan

• Multi-species habitat conservation plan for the Delta

• Proposed by the water exporters and the state and federal water contractors

• Involves converting Delta agricultural lands to wetlands

• Little or no participation by affected land owners or local government

DELTA

CONVEYANCE

1. Mitigate All Significant Adverse Impacts

2. Protect Area-of-Origin and Water Rights Priorities

3. Local Elected Government Representation for any New Governance

Structure

4. Protect Local Government Authorities

5. Integrate SSHCP with Bay Delta Conservation Plan

6. Adequately Fund Flood Control, Transportation, Through-Delta Water

Conveyance Facilities, etc

7. Mitigate for Impacts to the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District and

the Freeport Regional Water Authority Operations

8. Any solution to the problems being addressed in the Delta must account for multiple

causes of the Delta’s decline and not simply focus on one or even a limited number.

Sacramento County Policieswith Respect to Bay-Delta Related Activities Including the

Bay-Delta Conservation Plan and the Delta Vision

Sacramento County Policy Positions With Respect to Delta Actions and

Activities

1. Actions associated with the Delta ecosystem and

water supply reliability for area south of the Delta must

not redirect unmitigated adverse environmental,

economic or social impacts to Sacramento County.

Sacramento County Policy Positions With Respect to Delta Actions and

Activities

2. Actions and activities associated with the Delta must

honor and adhere to water rights priorities and area-

of-origin protections. Sacramento county opposes

water user fees that would tax water users in the

areas of origin for the cost of mitigation efforts in the

Delta or to provide a water supply for those south of

the Delta.

Water Rights

• Water rights first tied to land ownership– Riparian rights with no priority in time

• Appropriative rights- priority system-“first in time, first in right”

• Post 1914 - State Water Resources Control Board regulates water allocation

• Water rights are generally considered real property

Water Rights (con’t)

• Rights subject to “reasonable use”California Constitution Article X, Section 2

Water Rights (con’t)

• Area of Origin Protections– County of Origin Act

• Provides assurance that any new application to appropriate water for use by a county of origin will not be rejected because of senior export permits based on State-filed applications with earlier priorities.

– Watershed Protection Act• Reserves the right to appropriate water for use by

those within the watershed or immediately adjacent thereto.

Sacramento County Policy Positions With Respect to Delta Actions and

Activities3. Water conveyance facilities routed through

Sacramento County must have no adverse effect on the existing and future operation of the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (“SRCSD”) facilities or on the Freeport Regional Water Project (“FRWP”). Other adverse impacts of water conveyance facilities routed through Sacramento County must be fully mitigated. Sacramento County must be fully involved in routing and operational issues of water conveyance facilities located within Sacramento County.

Sacramento County Policy Positions With Respect to Delta Actions and

Activities

4. Sacramento County will protect its governmental

prerogatives in the areas of its local land use authority,

tax and related revenues, public health and safety,

economic development and agricultural stability.

Sacramento County Policy Positions With Respect to Delta Actions and

Activities

5. Sacramento County will protect its ability to govern, as an elected body, from proposed usurpation through governance by a non-elected, appointed board or council. Any councils, commissions or boards established to “govern” the Delta must include voting membership for elected representatives from Sacramento County, and elected representatives from the Delta counties must be a majority on any of these bodies.

Sacramento County Policy Positions With Respect to Delta Actions and

Activities

6. Sacramento County will work with the BDCP’s efforts

to insure that it does not conflict with County land use

planning, economic development, including agriculture,

and that it is consistent and compatible with the South

County HCP.

Sacramento County Policy Positions With Respect to Delta Actions and

Activities

7. Financial resources must be committed to maintain

and enhance vital transportation and flood control

infrastructure within those areas of the Delta that are

within Sacramento County. Financial resources also

need to be committed to improved emergency

response within the Delta.

Sacramento County Policy Positions With Respect to Delta Actions and

Activities

8. Any solution to the problems being addressed in the Delta must account for multiple causes of the Delta’s decline and not simply focus on one or even a limited number of them.

Summary of the County’s Actions

Delta Vision Strategic Plan released in October 2008.

Board of Supervisors adopts 8 Delta-related policies and principles on October 21, 2008.

Sacramento County is an active member of the 5-County TAC (Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano & Yolo). The TAC is coordinating and developing common areas of agreement (e.g., future governance requires a local voice & expand the co-equal goal concept to include “Delta as a Place”).

The legislative advocates and lobbyists of the 5-County coalition are reviewing and analyzing multiple legislative proposals and providing testimony at committee hearings.

Sacramento County leaders are meeting with key Assembly and Senate members, as well as staff of the Governor ‘s Office.

County staff meets internally to discuss outstanding issues and share legislative updates.

2009 Delta-Related Legislation(continued)

Protection of the Delta

• SB 12 (Simitian): A compressive bill that mirrors the recommendations of the Delta Blue Ribbon Task Force.

• AB 13 (Salas): Establishes a Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy.

• AB 39 (Huffman): Will implement Delta Vision.• SB 229 (Pavley): Proposes an “interim” governance structure for

the Delta & re-establishes the Cal Water Commission.• SB 457 (Wolk): Establishes the Delta Stewardship Council.• SB 458 (Wolk): Establishes a Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

Conservancy.

2009 Delta-Related Legislation Funding: Four water bond bills

($9 - $10 billion):SB 301 - Florez (Represents Fresno, Kern and

King counties) SB 371 – Cogdill (Represents Fresno,

Madera, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus counties) SB 456 - Wolk (Represents San Joaquin,

Solano and Yolo counties) SB 735 – Steinberg (Represents Sacramento)

Next Steps

• Continue meetings with State leadership and local state and federal elected representatives to address County issues

• Comment on proposed bills consistent with adopted County policies

• Continue commenting on Bay-Delta proposals

• Continue the 5-County coordination and partnerships with agencies having similar concerns

For Additional Informationwww.FreeportProject.org• Freeport Regional Water Project:

www.SCWA.net• Delta information• Vineyard Water Surface Treatment Plant Project