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Restore the Delta urges board not to delay Delta Conveyance hearing and to adopt strong Title VI response
Summary
Restore the Delta urged the State Water Board to refuse Department of Water Resources' request for more time to supply supplemental materials in the Delta Conveyance Project hearing and asked the board to adopt a robust response to a pending Title VI complaint.
A Restore the Delta representative told the board April 15 that the Department of Water Resources (DWR) has not shown good cause for failing to provide supplemental information requested in the administrative hearing for the Delta Conveyance Project, and urged the board to reject DWR’s motion to cancel or delay the hearing.
Cynthia Cortez, policy program manager for Restore the Delta, said some supplemental information was first requested in 2010 by California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and was never produced. She argued that further short extensions would not be fair to protestants and communities that would be impacted by the project. Cortez also asked the board to adopt a robust resolution addressing a pending Title VI complaint, saying the complaint raises water‑quality impacts that disproportionately affect tribes and communities of color in the Delta.
Why it matters: The Delta Conveyance Project is the subject of an administrative hearing at the board’s Office of Administrative Hearings. Protestants and environmental groups say additional material should have been provided earlier; DWR sought time to supplement the record. Cortez urged the board not to grant lengthy additional delays and to use the meeting as an opportunity to act on the Title VI matter.
Board members thanked the commenter and said the board would consider the issues raised about the hearing schedule and the Title VI complaint. No board vote or scheduling decision was announced at the April 15 meeting.
