Tag: Delta Stewardship Council

Stretched Thin: Protestant Attorneys Face Overlapping Delta Conveyance Project Hearings

~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ Leave a comment

The week of February 23-27 presents attorneys representing Delta communities with an impossible calendar. The State Water Board's Delta Conveyance Project water rights hearing has added February 23, 24, and 25 as hearing days. The Delta Stewardship Council has scheduled its appeal hearing on DWR's certification of consistency with the Delta Plan for February 26 … Continue reading Stretched Thin: Protestant Attorneys Face Overlapping Delta Conveyance Project Hearings

DWR’s Selective Conflict: It Applies in Court, But Not Before the Agencies

~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ Leave a comment

On Monday, February 9, 2026, Administrative Hearing Officer Nicole Kuenzi denied Somach Simmons & Dunn's motion to stay the Delta Conveyance Project water rights hearing pending resolution of DWR's disqualification motion in Sacramento Superior Court. The hearing will continue as scheduled, with most of the protestants' rebuttal case likely to conclude before the March 20 … Continue reading DWR’s Selective Conflict: It Applies in Court, But Not Before the Agencies

Delta Stewardship Council attempting to empower Chair to “limit or preclude” oral comments at meetingsp

Save the California Delta Alliance members and bus
~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ Leave a comment

Save the California Delta Alliance members chartered a bus to the 2017 Delta Stewardship Council meeting considering adoption of regulations amending the Delta Plan to incorporate Delta Conveyance. On Thursday, May 22, the Delta Stewardship Council is planning to adopt regulations on public participation in council meetings. The draft regulations include the following: Section 5000.15. … Continue reading Delta Stewardship Council attempting to empower Chair to “limit or preclude” oral comments at meetingsp

Delta Lead Scientist creates unprecedented conflicts of interest with multi-million dollar UC research grants

~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ Leave a comment

The Delta Lead Scientist, Dr. Laurel Larsen, is a hydroecologist at the University of California’s Berkeley campus. She is the first mid-career scientist to hold the position of Delta Lead Scientist, having received tenure in 2018. The Lead Scientist position and the Delta Science Program were first created under the 2000 CALFED Record of Decision, … Continue reading Delta Lead Scientist creates unprecedented conflicts of interest with multi-million dollar UC research grants

Delta ISB review of Delta tunnel project proceeding under huge time pressure

~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ 1 Comment

On June 8, 2022, DWR’s Director, Karla Nemeth, made a presentation on the Delta tunnel project to the Delta Independent Science Board (Delta ISB), with several of the scientists who had worked on the project. She said that she supported the Delta ISB’s review of the project. But unlike the twin tunnels project, the Department … Continue reading Delta ISB review of Delta tunnel project proceeding under huge time pressure

On political winds, adaptive management and the Delta Independent Science Board

Signs saying respect ethics scientific integrity
~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ 1 Comment

The Delta Reform Act of 2009 created the Delta Independent Science Board as a board “in state government,” and tasked the board with “oversight of the scientific research, monitoring, and assessment programs that support adaptive management of the Delta through periodic reviews…” (Water Code section 85280(a)(3).) Senate Bill 821, chaptered in October 2021, added language … Continue reading On political winds, adaptive management and the Delta Independent Science Board

On the framework of power in California water – comments to the Delta Stewardship Council

Metropolitan Water District building
~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ 4 Comments

These comments were made to the Delta Stewardship Council at the October 28, 2021 meeting. I wanted to share with you some thoughts from Hisham Ziuaddeen, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at University of Cambridge. He talked about frameworks of power. And I realized there is a framework of power in California water, and it determines: … Continue reading On the framework of power in California water – comments to the Delta Stewardship Council

Revised Delta Levees Investment Strategy approved over objections by Delta stakeholders

~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ Leave a comment

At the August 2021 meeting, the Delta Stewardship Council voted to approve a revised Delta Levees Investment Strategy and to move to formal rulemaking, with Councilmember Don Nottoli, Chair of the Delta Protection Commission, voting against the proposal. The Delta Levees Investment Strategy prioritizes state funding for Delta levees.  Levees marked "very high" priority (red), … Continue reading Revised Delta Levees Investment Strategy approved over objections by Delta stakeholders

Governor Newsom signs SB 821, restoring compensation to Delta Independent Science Board

Delta ISB meeting
~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ 3 Comments

On Thursday, October 7, 2021, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 821, which mandates that members of the Delta Independent Science Board shall not be employees of the Delta Stewardship Council, and that the Council shall issue contracts to pay the Delta Independent Science Board members at professional scientific rates. The Governor’s signing of SB 821 … Continue reading Governor Newsom signs SB 821, restoring compensation to Delta Independent Science Board

Bill to restore compensation for Delta Independent Science Board languishes on Governor Newsom’s desk

Delta ISB meeting
~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ 2 Comments

Two decades ago, California agencies joined federal agencies in signing the CALFED Record of Decision, which committed to a world class Delta science program. A key part of that commitment was to establish an Independent Science Board to provide oversight and peer review of the overall program. In 2009, the legislature established the Delta Independent … Continue reading Bill to restore compensation for Delta Independent Science Board languishes on Governor Newsom’s desk