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NCCFFF Alert - Opposition to the South Delta Improvement Program
The
Northern California Chapter of the Federation of Fly Fishers is coordinating
a letter writing campaign to express our opposition to the Draft
Environmental Impact Report / Study (DEIR/S) for the South Delta Improvement
Program (SDIP). GBF Members are being alerted so they can express
their views on the draft EIR/S to the Governor, the California Department of
Fish & Game, and the California Department of Water Resources. The GBF
Conservation Committee agrees with the NCCFFF that we are opposed to the
DEIR/S and supports the alternative actions being suggested by the NCCFFF.
You can
link to the State's South Delta
Improvements Project Home Page for more info.
GBF
Members can express their opposition by downloading, printing and mailing
postcards or a letter by right clicking these links and saving to your PC
for local printing:
Postcards to the
Governor, DFG and DWR (via
NCCFFF's meeting with DWR) - This is an Adobe Acrobat/Reader PDF file of two
pages to be printed on card stock, two sided. The GBF Conservation Committee
plans to have sets of the postcards at our General Meeting for members.
Letter
(see the following) - This is a one
page letter for normal printing from Adobe. Set your print properties to
portrait and print ALL.
Mr. Paul A. Marshall
California Department of Water Resources
1416 9th Street – 2nd Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Re: South Delta Improvement Project DEIR/S
Dear Mr. Marshall:
Thank you for soliciting public comments in response to the South Delta
Improvement Program DEIR/S.
Given the precipitous decline of Delta fish species, it makes no sense to
move forward with a project that will “increase water deliveries” to state
and federal water contractors by pumping even more water from the already
stressed Delta ecosystem. This misguided project cannot move forward until
the cause of the Delta fish decline is identified and resolved.
SDIP does not actually “improve” water quality or restore the Delta
ecosystem. It simply directs water to state, federal, and local pumps to
allow for more Delta diversions. SDIP should actually include an alternative
that meets the essential goals of restoring the Delta ecosystem, improving
water quality for biological needs as well as for consumptive purposes, and
protecting Delta fish species.
If and when the project environmental review is reinitiated, the DEIR/S
must, by state and federal law, include a reasonable range of alternatives.
Currently, the DEIR/S only considers alternatives to increase Delta pumping
and a no action alternative. At least one additional alternative that
proposes a significant reduction in Delta pumping should be considered in a
reinitiated DEIR/S. The goal of this alternative would be to restore the
Delta ecosystem, improve water quality, and protect Delta fish species.
I urge that the SDIP DEIR/S be withdrawn until the causes of the Delta fish
decline are identified and resolved. At the minimum, the SDIP DEIR/S should
consider an alternative that significantly reduces Delta pumping from
current levels. California does not need to increase Delta diversions to
meet its current and future water needs. Increased investments in water use
efficiency, reclamation, and conservation can meet our needs well into the
future.
Please include me on your mailing list to be notified of any decisions or
activities concerning this project.
Sincerely,
Name: ________________________________ Date: _________________
Street Address: ________________________________________________
City/State/Zip: _________________________________________________
Email: ________________________________________________________ |
