Judge upholds most of Delta Plan, asks for some modifications

Looking to resolve on-going debates and no less than seven lawsuits over the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Plan drafted by the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC), Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael P. Kenny has upheld major segments of the plan but ruled that portions are inadequate.

The DSC, a state agency, was tasked with crafting a plan for the Delta by a 2009 law. The Delta Plan, as the document is now known, was challenged by virtually all sides since it was written in 2013 including among others the Central Delta Water Agency, state and federal water contractors, the City of Stockton, the California Water Impact Network, and the San Luis Delta Mendota Water Authority.

The legislation that authorized the Delta Plan included a requirement that it balance the “co-equal goals” of protecting the Delta environment and ensure stable freshwater supplies for the south state. The plan agitated both central and southern water agencies who depend on exported water saying the plan failed to meet the requisite conditions for stabilizing supplies. Environmentalists alleged that the plan was remiss in imposing a reduction in reliance on Delta water.

Judge Kenny denied most of the claims in his 73-page ruling but noted the plan needs a wider range of alternatives for delivering water throughout the Delta and throughout the state – options beyond Gov. Jerry Brown’s projected California’s WaterFix twin tunnels. Kenny’s ruling noted that the plan also lacked “quantified or otherwise measurable targets associated with achieving reduced Delta reliance” for California’s water supply.”

“This is a victory for folks in the Delta,” Stockton attorney Thomas Keeling, who represented some of the parties involved in the litigation.”

Also encouraged by Kenny’s ruling, though for different reasons than Keeling, was Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, an anti-tunnels group. “If you cannot put more water in those tunnels (referring to Brown’s proposed twin tunnels), they do not pencil out.”

The Delta Stewardship Council has acknowledged that it is working to address the issues raised by Kenny’s ruling.

DSC Executive Director Jessica R. Pearson said she was “…pleased the court upheld our regulatory authority and the role of the council in shaping California water policy. The court acknowledged that the Delta Plan is based on (the) best available science, which is foundational for the actions we and others take in the Delta.”

Judge Kenny’s ruling has cancelled a court hearing on the issue set for later this month.