Solano Co. Joins Agencies In Lawsuit: California WaterFix Would 'Devastate The Delta'

SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA REGION, CA -- A lawsuit seeking to block construction of the California WaterFix project, or Twin Tunnels, was filed Monday by representatives from Contra Costa County, San Joaquin County, Solano County, Yolo County, Contra Costa County Water Agency, Central Delta Water Agency, South Delta Water Agency and Local Agencies of the North Delta.

The lawsuit filed in Sacramento County Superior Court challenges the California Department of Water Resources’ "flawed" approval of the environmental impact report (EIR) for project, which the agencies claim would "devastate" the Sacramento River and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

In a long-awaited decision, DWR on July 21 approved the environmental analysis for the proposed project, which would mainly involve the construction of three new water intakes in the northern Delta near Clarksburg in Yolo County in order to shuttle water via two new underground tunnels to existing DWR diversion facilities in the southern Delta at Clifton Court Forebay in Contra Costa County.

According to the DWR, the approval means construction of the $15.74-billion project could begin as soon as next year. The WaterFix "modernize a 50-year-old water delivery system that is increasingly vulnerable to disruption by natural disaster and climate change. With new intakes along the Sacramento River, the project also would give water project operators the flexibility to divert water at times of high flow when the risk to native fish at the new diversion facilities is minimal, thus better balancing water supply and environmental protection needs," according to DWR.

The suit filed exactly 30 days from the date of DWR's approval, however accuses the state of failing to

consider alternatives that do not rely on new diversions [conveyance] and of adopting "ineffective and unenforceable" measures for mitigating the project's impacts on the environment.

The suit states: "The Delta already faces interrelated problems of overstressed water supplies, instream flow deficits, water quality impairments, and degraded aquatic habitats. This Project, if built and operated, would exacerbate those existing problems, worsen the currently good water quality in the north Delta, and drive the nail in the coffin for water quality in the South Delta, among other harms."

Further, the agencies say: "As a result of numerous and compounding deficiencies in the EIRs, the public remains very much in the dark about what the Project actually entails, its environmental impacts, and the efficacy of the mitigation measures proposed by DWR to lessen Project impacts. As such, the fundamental purposes of CEQA [California Environmental Quality Act] have been thwarted. Moreover, in approving the Project, DWR and DFW violated other state laws designed to protect fish and wildlife, the Delta watershed and water supplies, and the public trust. Unless DWR and DFW meet the requirements of CEQA and these other vital safeguards under California law, the Project may not proceed."

Here are statements from representatives of the agencies that filed the lawsuit Monday:

Contra Costa County Supervisor Karen Mitchoff: "Contra Costa County has long been a protector of the Delta and this California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) challenge should not come as a surprise. Like many other Bay Delta stakeholders, we have identified major flaws with the WaterFix proposal, significant impacts to water quality and the ecosystem, and continue to urge consideration of other more viable alternatives. What is surprising is the continued panicked rush by the state to push for a project that does not pencil out. Clearly, the enormous project costs and the lack of new water will have exporters walking away."

San Joaquin County Supervisor Chuck Winn: "This EIR process was always rigged in favor of the misnamed California WaterFix. The truth never mattered and pertinent facts were ignored because the state had already predetermined the selection of the twin tunnels. This lawsuit should provide some accountability by the state to accurately disclose negative impacts of the project, genuinely examine viable alternatives that will avoid environmental harm and legitimately give the public and affected agencies the opportunity to review and comment on anticipated and significant tunnel impacts."

Solano County Supervisor Skip Thomson: "The Tunnels project threatens the Delta’s water quality and agricultural heritage, but the lead agencies have still not fully disclosed or mitigated the project’s significant, negative impacts on Solano County and the Delta region. The environmental review that we’re challenging today simply fails the basic legal requirement to inform decision makers and the public about the true impacts of the project, but at least one thing is clear: the Tunnels represent a major missed opportunity to find a real solution for the challenges facing the Delta and the state."

Yolo County Supervisor Oscar Villegas: "The WaterFix poses serious and unacceptable risks to the Delta environment, economy, and way of life. This lawsuit asserts that the state’s analysis of those risks is deficient and fails to afford full and proper consideration of other viable alternatives. The state cannot simply paper over the fears of Delta communities and farmers. Yolo County has a responsibility to protect the values of the Delta, the ongoing viability of its many small local agencies and reclamation districts, and communities like Clarksburg that are ground zero for a project of unprecedented cost, scale, and uncertainty."

Central Delta Water Agency representative, Dante Nomellini: "The environmental review for the WaterFix has substantial flaws and the entire process has been corrupted by Federal and state predetermination of the outcome prior to initiation of the environmental review process."

Contra Costa County Supervisor Diane Burgis on behalf of the Contra Costa County Water Agency: "Challenging the state's CEQA document was an easy decision considering the massive unmitigated impacts to the Delta's residents, fish and water quality. Despite a decade or more of development, the Twin Tunnels proposal is still unable to capture any new water when flows through the Delta are at their highest because there is no new storage south of the Delta. What’s clear is the WaterFix fails to achieve the co-equal goals of securing a more reliable water supply while restoring and enhancing the Delta ecosystem and protecting the Delta as a place."

John Herrick, an attorney representing South Delta Water Agency: "The ongoing WaterFix hearings being conducted by the state Water Resources Control Board have revealed that with the tunnel project in operation, there will be time when the salinity in the southern Delta will increase two-fold or more, and at times when the salinity standard is already being violated. South Delta Water Agency has no choice but to oppose a project designed to injure local diverters."

Osha Meserve, counsel for the Local Agencies of the North Delta: "For ten years we’ve been fighting to get the tunnels’ proponents to look jointly for better solutions that don’t destroy the Delta. They didn’t listen and now we’re turning to the courts to enforce critical environmental protections to save the Delta and Delta communities."

Clarksburg farmer, Mark Wilson: "As farmers growing wine grapes and producing wine, we rely on adequate fresh water flows from the Sacramento River as we all have for the last 165 years. The tunnels threaten family farms throughout the Delta, along with its fish, wildlife, and all its environmental values."

Photo: The humpback whale calf nicknamed "Dawn" breaches with windsurfers off of Sherman Island in the Sacramento River. This humpback and her mother, nicknamed "Delta", strayed 90 miles up the Sacramento River in May 2007. They had both been injured, apparently by a boat keel. The Antioch Bridge is visible in the background. (Public domain image via NOAA Fisheries Service/Wikimedia Commons)