Baykeeper urges state board to extend comment period and rethink July Bay‑Delta draft plan

Eric Buscher, managing attorney at San Francisco Baykeeper, told the State Water Resources Control Board on Sept. 3 that the draft July proposal to update Phase 2 of the Bay‑Delta Water Quality Control Plan requires more time for public review and revision. Buscher said the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta is "a critically important natural resource" and argued that the board’s July draft "would choose extinction instead" for some native fish populations if adopted unchanged.

Buscher urged the board to grant Baykeeper’s request for an extension of the comment and hearing schedule so stakeholders can provide substantive input. He told the board the best available science indicates existing requirements are insufficient and that "a comprehensive regulatory strategy addressing the watershed as a whole is needed." Buscher said several federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, have urged large‑scale increases in flows and habitat restoration to recover native species.

Chair Joaquin Esquivel thanked Buscher and noted staff had already added 20 days to the public comment period and that an additional extension request was under consideration. No board action was taken during the public forum comment; the request for any further schedule change remains under staff consideration.