State will miss deadline for releasing delta tunnel documents
The state will miss a self-imposed deadline for the release of a mountain of environmental documents for the proposed construction of a massive water tunnel system in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
In a Sept. 20 letter, California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird informed the U.S. Interior Department that the draft environmental review of the tunnel project would not be formally released until Nov. 15 -- six weeks later than the deadline set this year by Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration.
The delay is not surprising in light of recent changes made in the project as well as ongoing criticism of the plans by the federal fishery agencies that will ultimately have to approve the proposal.
The state last month announced it was realigning the tunnel route in an attempt to lessen construction impacts on delta communities. And new options for operating the system have been drawn up in an effort to satisfy federal biologists.
“A lot of work has been done, burning the midnight oil over the summer to address comments and concerns,” said resources Deputy Secretary Richard Stapler.
The $25-billion project would re-engineer the way Northern California water is conveyed through the delta to the big aqueducts that supply San Joaquin Valley farms and the Southland. A new diversion point on the Sacramento River in the north delta would feed two 30-mile tunnels leading to existing export facilities. In addition, more than 100,000 acres of delta habitat would be restored.
Once the nearly 25,000-page draft environmental review is published in the Federal Register, a formal comment period of 120 days will begin. A final decision on the proposal is expected next year.
