Agenda

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D. 7

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Supervisor Mary N. Piepho and Supervisor Karen Mitchoff
Date:	March 15, 2016

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Support for AB 1713 (Eggman): Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: Peripheral Canal

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 03/15/2016

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Ryan Hernandez, 925-674-7824

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: March 15, 2016
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

CONSIDER a position of "Support" for AB 1713 (Eggman): Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: Peripheral Canal, as recommended by Supervisors Mitchoff and Piepho.

FISCAL IMPACT:

No fiscal impact associated with supporting AB 1713.

BACKGROUND:

AB 1713 (Eggman) would require Californians to vote on a ballot initiative for any infrastructure project that conveys water directly from a diversion point in the Sacramento River to State Water Project pumps or the federal Central Valley Project south of the Delta and is aimed at blocking the "twin tunnels" project.

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

The Delta Counties Coalition (DCC), represented by Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano and Yolo Counties, has taken a position to support AB 1713. The DCC calls the Governor’s tunnel plan insufficient, contending it will not add new water to alleviate California’s drought and will irreparably harm the historic Delta – the largest estuary west of the Mississippi. The DCC notes that despite the project’s $15+ billion dollar price tag, unsuspecting rate-payers and taxpayers will be on the hook for far more as the cost is projected by independent sources to reach as high as $25+ billion. In its support letter, the DCC notes that "The permitting process for a major infrastructure project, such as the twin tunnels, should be transparent. Its ultimate approval or denial should rest with those directly impacted by its construction and the ratepayers and taxpayers who may be required to pay for the project. The tunnels project will irreparably harm the Delta, provide no new water, and will only benefit one part of the state at the expense of another. Furthermore, voters rejected a similar concept 30 years ago. The people most impacted by the twin tunnels project must have the right to vote to approve or disapprove the project.

The DCC supports AB 1713 because it would not only force a public vote on the ill-fated project but would also require the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) to complete an economic feasibility analysis prior to a vote authoring the tunnels’ construction."

AB 1713 is pending in the Assembly committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife. It was introduced on 01/26/16.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

Without an official position on the bill, the County cannot advocate for it.

CLERK'S ADDENDUM

Written comments provided by Ann Puntch (attached).