Delta management plan invalidated by Superior Court judge

A Sacramento Superior Court judge ruled Friday that the long-fought Delta Management Plan is no longer valid. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael P. Kenny had ruled earlier last month that certain elements of the plan were inadequate but has now put the plan aside until additional changes can be made. The state has indicated that it will appeal the decision.

Judge Kenny’s decision could be the next delay in Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to build twin tunnels underneath the Delta. Maintaining that certain elements of the plan were inadequate, Kenny has found the plan lacking the inclusion of quantifiable targets for California to reduce its dependence on the Delta for drinking water. Kenny claims the plan does not “promote options for water conveyance and storage systems” other than assuming the tunnels will be built. Kenny also said it did not “include quantified or otherwise measurable targets associated with achieving reduced Delta reliance” for water supplies in the state.

Gov. Brown’s twin tunnels project must prove that they will abide by the Delta Plan’s recommendations, specifically for managing land use and water exports in the Delta’s delicate environment. Kenny’s invalidation of the Delta Plan spells lengthy delays and an appeals process on top of the significant delays the tunnels already faced.

Aiming to settle decades of conflict amongst farmers, anglers, environmentalists and water agencies south of the Delta, the Delta Stewardship Council approved their plan in 2013. The plan laid out how the estuary should be developed and how much water could be exported to the southern portion of the state – an attempt to balance the so called “co-equal goals” of the Delta.

Delta advocates, who had previously argued that the plan didn’t go far enough to protect the fragile estuary, hailed Kenny’s decision.

“The court invalidated the Delta plan because it blatantly failed to comply with the law, and consequently, was not protective of the Delta,” said Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, one of the groups that sued over the plan. Environmentalists, including Jennings, foresee costs for the twin tunnels escalating to $16 billion resulting in a number of regulatory delays that could derail the tunnels project.

Advocates of the Delta Management Plan contend the decision could delay restoration work and needed development protections for the Delta’s fragile ecosystem. This will result in not just the controversial parts of the plan being put on hold but contend that invalidating the entire plan will delay even the non-controversial parts.

“The Delta remains in crisis, and now isn’t the time to set aside the state’s only comprehensive management plan,” said Jessica Pearson, executive officer for the Delta Stewardship Council. The council, as state agency, was assigned to develop a legally enforceable vision for the precarious estuary by a 2009 law.

Referring to Kenny’s invalidation of the Delta Management Plan, Jennings with the Sportfishing Alliance said, “I think it likely pushes this out for years. And Brown won’t be in office.”

Regardless, work on the twin tunnels continues according to representatives for the state. Nancy Vogel, spokeswoman for the California Resources Agency has said, “We are continuing the work.” A state water board hearing has been scheduled for July 26.