[env-trinity] Congress Members Seek Delta Fish Decline Answers

[Daniel Bacher]

UNITED STATES CONGRESS

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, May 12, 2005

CONTACT: Tom Kiley (Miller), 202-225-2095

                                                                                                                               

 

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SEEK

ANSWERS ON DELTA FISH DECLINE

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of Congress from California and Arizona today 
called on state and federal agencies to explain their actions in the face of 
drastic declines in fish populations of the San Francisco Bay and Delta 
region, the west coast’s largest estuary.

 

Such a decline could signal severe ecological and economic consequences 
throughout California and undermine major water reforms designed to protect 
the region.

 

Recent reports indicate that the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta’s fish 
populations up and down the food chain are in precipitous decline, including 
threatened delta smelt, young striped bass, threadfin shad, and copepods.

 

Yet public statements from the state and federal officials charged with 
maintaining this fragile and critical ecosystem demonstrate uncertainty as 
to their understanding of the causes of this crisis. In addition, although 
scientists at the agencies have described the potential of an ecosystem-wide 
collapse as “scary,” none of the relevant agencies have sufficiently 
explained their actions to date.

 

Sixteen members of Congress – including Rep. George Miller (D-CA-Martinez), 
author of the historic 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act, House 
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-San Francisco), and Rep. Grace 
Napolitano (D-CA-Norwalk), senior Democrat on the House Water Subcommittee – 
sent the letter today to Interior Secretary Gale Norton and California’s 
Resources Secretary Michael Chrisman, asking them to explain when they first 
became aware of the problem, how the agencies under their watch had 
responded, and why Congress was not warned of the problem when the critical 
data first became available.

 

The lawmakers advised in their letter that “any number of actions affecting 
the Bay and Delta have been allowed to go forward with the assumption that 
those actions could coexist with a recovering ecosystem and improved fish 
populations. If such assumptions are no longer operational, we may need to 
rethink those actions.”

 

In sending the letter today, Miller said: “This issue is bigger than whether 
individual species are thriving or not: California’s water supply for 
households, farmers, fishermen, boaters, and the environment depends on a 
healthy Delta ecosystem. The agencies need to explain what they knew and 
when they knew it, and if there’s a problem, we need to see a plan to fix 
it.”

 

In 2004, Congress approved a federal-state water plan, known as Cal-Fed 
(H.R. 2828), to providing federal funding to achieve compromises among water 
users, environmental needs, and the concerns of other stakeholders. Today’s 
letter notes that better information about the Delta is vital to maintain 
confidence in that process and in the operations of the state and federal 
departments.

 

Below is the full text of the letter, including all 16 signatories.

 

***

 

May 12, 2005

 

Dear Secretary Norton and Secretary Chrisman:

 

The goal of California water policy for over a decade has been to put 
"policy before plumbing"; in order to ensure financial and environmental 
viability, that is, we must develop sound policy before multi-billion dollar 
investments are made. But the present Delta ecosystem crisis strongly 
suggests that current policy is as deeply troubled as the Delta itself, 
putting those investments at risk.

 

Disclosure of an "ongoing crisis" in the health of the Sacramento-San 
Joaquin Delta necessitates an immediate and comprehensive response by state 
and federal officials.1 Reports indicate that the Delta's fish populations 
up and down the food chain are "mysteriously collapsing," including 
threatened delta smelt, young striped bass, threadfin shad, and copepods. In 
addition to impacts on commercial fisheries, the decline of the fish 
populations of the San Francisco Bay and Delta region - the West Coast's 
largest estuary - could cascade into serious economic consequences 
throughout California.

 

Congress passed the CalFed bill last year for the express purpose of 
providing federal funding to achieve compromises among water users, 
environmental needs, and the concerns of other stakeholders. Any number of 
actions affecting the Bay and Delta has been allowed to go forward with the 
assumption that those actions could coexist with a recovering ecosystem and 
improved fish populations. If such assumptions are no longer operational, we 
may need to rethink those actions.

 

We are deeply troubled that the agencies under your watch did not provide 
Congress with any timely warning of this problem, although data were 
evidently available for some time indicating that species were in decline. 
Press accounts indicate a great deal of uncertainty as to your agencies' 
understanding of the causes of this crisis, or what you intend to do in 
response.  An official from the Metropolitan Water District is quoted in one 
article as saying that "it's quite apparent that we don't know what's going 
on in the Delta."  Such observations do not generate a great deal of 
confidence in the operations of your departments or in CalFed itself.

 

When did your agencies first become aware of this crisis? Please provide all 
relevant communication that would explain why this story was first made 
public by the press, rather than through official communications.

 

What steps have you taken to date? Press accounts seem to indicate that 
official actions have not reflected these significant scientific concerns. 
Please provide documentation of any actions taken in response to the data 
showing the declines in the Delta's fish populations. Your response should 
include internal and intra-agency communications, as well as any 
communications between your agency and water users, their representatives, 
and other stakeholders.

 

Given the substantial state and federal financial investments in the CalFed 
program, it is incumbent on you to demonstrate that you are responding 
appropriately to the potential of an ecological disaster, not only through 
the CalFed process but under other statutory authorities, including the 
Endangered Species Act, the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, and the 
Clean Water Act.

 

As the relevant House Appropriations bills are likely to be under 
consideration by the end of this month, please provide your responses before 
May 23, 2005.

 

Sincerely,

 

GEORGE MILLER                                           NANCY PELOSI         
            ELLEN O. TAUSCHER

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO                              MIKE THOMPSON     
            HENRY WAXMAN

JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD                       
                                    TOM LANTOS           

MICHAEL M. HONDA                                   RAÚL M. GRIJALVA 
            LOIS CAPPS

LYNN C. WOOLSEY                                      SAM FARR     
                        BARBARA LEE         

HILDA L. SOLIS                                             FORTNEY PETE 
STARK

 

Copies of the letter were also sent to:

 

Director Patrick Wright, California Bay-Delta Authority; Commissioner John 
Keys, Bureau of Reclamation; Director Lester Snow, Department of Water 
Resources; Director L. Ryan Broddrick, Department of Fish and Game; Acting 
Director Matthew Hogan, US Fish & Wildlife Service; California Congressional 
Delegation; Senator Sheila Kuehl; Senator Michael Machado; Assemblymember 
Lois Wolk; and the Association of California Water Agencies.

 

www.house.gov/georgemiller