Public comments needed for Water Board Hearing on January 18, 2018

Tunnels, Water

Dear Delta Friends and Neighbors – Your environment, recreation and/or property will be potentially negatively impacted by construction and use of the California WaterFix’s three water intake facilities proposed near Clarksburg, Hood, and Courtland and/or the construction of the twin tunnels, so that DWR and state water contractors can siphon off 9000 cubic feet per second of fresh water from the Sacramento River north of Walnut Grove to export to other areas of the state!

See the project maps here.

In addition, a forebay or large lake is proposed near Locke and Walnut Grove, which could impact the groundwater levels for those homes, wells and farm lands nearby.

The State Water Resources Control Board will begin Part 2 of the DWR permitting process on January 18, 2018 for this proposed construction/destruction of North Delta freshwater flows. We have sent 1,000+ information letters to area people who will be impacted, and we strongly encourage you to write a Policy Statement/Comment Letter stating how you are impacted and mail or email it to us by January 11, 2018, to present to the Water Board.

You will find a Comment Letter Guideline to help you organize your Statement below. Please express your concern over the construction and water intake facilities and how this potentially impacts you and your family and/or business.

In addition, and even more importantly, would you be willing to read your Policy Statement in person to the Water Board on/or about January 18, 2018? Please let us know so we can organize our “Protest-by-Policy-Statement” day/team to be heard at the beginning of the Part 2 Hearings. Please keep your Policy Statements under 3 minutes in length. North Delta CARES arranged for 64 people to read their Policy Statements at the Part 1 Hearing in July 2017, and it was very powerful.

Please plan to attend a meeting on Thursday, January 4, 2018, at 6 p.m. at the Walnut Grove Community Presbyterian Church, 14120 Grand Avenue, Walnut Grove to discuss this and to answer your questions. You can also call Barbara Daly at 916-761-4726 with questions. Thank you for your participation as we all tell Governor Brown and the SWRCB that these water intakes and tunnels will devastate the Delta, our lives, and our futures.

POLICY STATEMENT / COMMENT LETTER GUIDELINES

Please address your statement to: State Water Resources Control Board Hearing Officers, 1001 I Street, Sacramento, CA 995814. Include your name, address, phone number and email address.

If applicable include business name and address. How long you, and/or your family, have lived/worked in the Delta. Where is your property in relation to the construction? Be specific.

You can send your comments to us as a Word document, an email, or you can write it by hand. You can include images if you wish.

If you plan to read your statement at the Water Board hearing, there is a time limit of 3 minutes. This is approximately one typed page or shorter, single spaced. If you do not plan to read your statement, it can be any length.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

Part 2 can include your Comments on any of the following impacts:

  • Construction of CA Waterfix that causes impacts to flow and water quality unreasonably affecting fish, wildlife or recreational uses of water, or other public resources and whether the proposed changes are in the public interest.
  • Human use/human safety associated with the health of a fishery or recreation.
  • Impacts to hunting or fishing or economic impacts to recreation-oriented businesses.
  • Impacts to groundwater wells and water distribution systems including construction-related impacts are relevant as to whether project is in the public interest.
  • All construction-related impacts.
  • Economic feasibility of Project and whether project is in the public interest.
  • Effects of project on funding for levee maintenance as related to public interest.
  • Cost of constructing Water Fix and how funded.
  • Consistency of Water Fix with Delta Reform Act, Delta Plan and/or California Water Plan.
  • Why will this construction affect the environment in which you live? How will it impact you and your family/business financially, physically, emotionally? How will continued and increased diversion of Sacramento River and Delta fresh water affect your drinking water well? Your irrigation water sources? Your property access?

North Delta CARES organized community Policy Statements in July of 2016. We posted extensive information on our website at that time, and most of it is relevant to Policy Statements for Part 2. You can see that post here.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Please mail your comment by January 11 to:
Barbara Daly
P.O. Box 255
Clarksburg, CA 95612
(916) 761-4726

You can also email your comment to: bdalymsn@citlink.net

We will submit all Comments from North Delta CARES at one time on the day of the first Hearing (1/18/18). Please submit your written comments by January 11, 2018. Also please let us know if you can personally read your comment to the SWRCB on January 18.

Tax-deductible donations for an attorney to represent North Delta CARES at the hearing can be made out to SJVLF (write North Delta CARES in the memo line) and sent to Barbara Daly at the above address. Or donate securely online. (Federal 501-c-3 Tax ID: 26-3131390). Our goal is $5,000. Thank you!