California cuts habitat fix for Delta project

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — California officials have dramatically scaled back the habitat restoration planned during construction of two massive tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to send water to farms and millions of people.

California Department of Fish and Game Director Chuck Bonham told The Associated Press Wednesday that the project now calls for restoring 30,000 acres for wetland and wildlife habitat — down from 100,000 acres. Bonham said the amount of land targeted for environmental improvements was revised because there was "too much complexity" in the original 50-year plan, and it was too difficult to get federal permits from federal wildlife agencies.

The original environmental improvements were projected to cost $8 billion, and officials said the new plans to be announced Thursday will cost about $300 million.

"We need to restore habitat in the Delta," Bonham said. "We've known that for a long time. There's no dispute there. Let's get going and do it."

Under development for eight years, the Bay Delta Conservation Plan calls for building two underground tunnels, 40 feet across and 30 miles long, to send water from the Sacramento River around the Delta. The water currently irrigates 3 million acres of farmland in the Central Valley and serves 25 million people as far south as San Diego. The projected cost of the tunnels is $15 million.

The plan, supported by Gov. Jerry Brown, is designed to stabilize water supplies for cities and farms south of the Delta. But it has drawn strong opposition fromDelta farmers and environmentalists, who contend that the tunnels will allow salt water from San Francisco Bay to degrade the Delta's water quality and damage habitat for endangered salmon and tiny delta smelt.

State officials decided to split their plans for the Delta into two parts — the construction of the tunnels and efforts to restore wildlife habitat along waterways.

"Separating them doesn't change the science," said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta and a critic of the plan. "The tunnels are going to leave us with a permanent drought in the Delta."

The new approach doesn't come with 50-year permits, which was a goal of the previous plan because that would shield Central and Southern California water agencies from future cutbacks of Delta water for endangered species protection. Bonham said the state couldn't achieve the longer approvals and now is seeking permits of 10 years or less.

A spokeswoman for Westlands Water District, a large provider of water to Central Valley farmers, declined comment until the official announcement. A representative of Metropolitan Water District, which supplies water to 19 million residents in Southern California, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Bonham defended the scaled back habitat restoration, saying it is more realistic to achieve in the remaining four years of Brown's term. He said it is unclear who will be leading the effort decades from now and what impact climate change will have on California's water picture.

The state is entering its fourth year of drought with mandatory water restrictions for residents, and many farmers are receiving little or no surface water for irrigation from government water projects.

As part of the overhauled Delta plan, officials named Solano County's water official David Okita to oversee the habitat restoration and to help streamline the permitting process for projects to be launched in the next four years.

Only about 5 percent of California's wetlands remain. Restoration projects will return at least some of the freshwater marshes and willow thickets, with trees along the water providing both food and shade to young fish, Bonham said, noting the effort will mark a "decisive break from the obstacles of the past."

"There are skeptics, of course, on anything that's bold," he said. "Make no mistake, the hardest water issue in California is about our infrastructure and our ecosystem in the Delta."

Funds for the restoration effort will come from a variety of sources, officials said, with 75 million from the Proposition 1 water bond voters approved in November. Between $20 million and $30 million will come from cap and trade funds under AB 32 greenhouse gas initiative of 2006. The rest will come through state budget allocations.