(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Public comment period for Sites Reservoir infrastructure streamlining certification ends Oct. 23 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-10 You know a government agency is probably not serious about obtaining much public comment on an environmentally destructive project like the Sites Reservoir project when they provide only a short period to comment in. This was definitely the case on October 10 when the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) announced a comment period regarding the Sites Reservoir project that only lasts 13 days. “An application for certification under the Infrastructure Streamlining Program has been submitted to the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) for the Sites Reservoir Project,” the announcement states. “The application can be accessed on OPR’s website.” “Public comments will be accepted on the application until Monday, October 23, 2023,” the announcement notes. The Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) “studies future research and planning needs, fosters goal-driven collaboration, and delivers guidance to state partners and local communities, with a focus on land use and community development, climate risk and resilience, and high road economic development,” according to the OPR website. Environmental, Tribal and fish advocates aren’t happy with the short period for public comment — and believe more time is needed for the public to submit their comments. “I’m disappointed by this development and sincerely hope that the Sites Project Authority provides additional time for the public,” said Ashley Overhouse, Water Policy Advisor, California Program, Defenders of Wildlife, in response to the announcement. “The Sites Project Authority’s final environmental impact report is expected to be released to the public later this fall and the timing of this application is no coincidence.” How to Comment Public comments may be submitted electronically to California.Jobs@opr.ca.gov. Public comments must include a reference to the Sites Reservoir Project by name. Public comments may be posted to a public website. Do not submit any sensitive or personal information in the comment letter. Public comments submitted to OPR will be considered regardless of the format in which they are received. However, we encourage public comments to be submitted in a format that complies with State and federal accessibility requirements and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, or a subsequent version, published by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium at a minimum Level AA success criteria. Instructions on how to create an accessible document can be found on OPR’s Accessibility Page.” Environmental groups and tribes filed protest against Sites water rights application The announcement comes just weeks after Friends of the River (FOR) and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), along with a coalition of tribes and environmental organizations, on August 31 submitted a protest against the water rights application and petitions of the Sites Project Authority for the proposed Sites Reservoir. The coalition includes the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, AquAlliance, California Water Impact Network, Cal Wild, Fly Fishers of Davis, Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk, Northern California Council of Fly Fishers International, Restore the Delta, Save California Salmon, Sierra Club California, and Water Climate Trust. The Sites Reservoir Project, an off stream water storage facility being promoted by the California Department of Water Resources under the Gavin Newsom administration, would be located on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, approximately 10 miles west of Maxwell in Glenn and Colusa Counties. The Sites Project Authority, created In August 2010 when seven regional entities, including several local water agencies and counties executed the Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement, claims on their website that “Sites Reservoir would capture and store stormwater flows from the Sacramento River – after all other water rights and regulatory requirements are met – for release in dry and critical years for environmental use and for California communities, farms, and businesses when it is so desperately needed.” However, the protest filed by the groups argues that Sites ”would have adverse environmental impacts, would not best conserve the public trust, would not best conserve the public interest,” and “would be in conflict with a general or coordinated plan or with water quality objectives established pursuant to law. (Wat. Code, § 10504.)” “Friends of the River stands firmly in opposition to granting the water rights to build the $4.8 billion Sites Reservoir,” said Jann Dorman, Executive Director of Friends of the River, in a statement. “The water needed to achieve the purported project benefits is simply not available without causing even greater harm to the environment, vulnerable communities, and the public. The Sacramento River and Bay Delta are already over-allocated and in environmental collapse.” Chris Shutes, Executive Director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, echoed Dormann’s assessment, stating that “building new reservoirs will never solve the problem of giving away too much water.” “Sites would join a system of reservoirs whose drains are too big for their spigots. The supposed environmental benefits rely on promises of responsible management by the people who give away too much water in the first place. The pay-to-play model is inequitable and unjust. Sites Reservoir is a bad deal California: for its fish and wildlife, for its rivers, for its people,” Shutes argued. The protest lays out a “plethora of evidence” for the environmental harm that Sites Reservoir will cause, as well as the ways in which Sites Reservoir will not produce nearly as much water as advocates for the project hope it will, according to the groups. Read the full protest HERE . The Newsom Administration is forging ahead with Sites Reservoir project at the same time that it is moving forward with the controversial Delta Tunnel and Big Ag-backed voluntary agreements at a time when the current Delta water exports and reservoir and river regime has driven California Chinook salmon populations, Delta smelt and other fish populations to the edge of extinction. Salmon fishing on the ocean and California rivers is closed this year, due to the abysmal management of Central Valley reservoirs and rivers during a drought, according to independent scientists, anglers, Tribal leaders and environmental justice advocates. Federal and state fishery managers closed the ocean and river fisheries based on the forecasted low abundance of Sacramento River and Klamath-Trinity River fall-run Chinook salmon on the ocean this year. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/10/2198558/-Public-comment-period-for-Sites-Reservoir-infrastructure-streamlining-certification-ends-Oct-23?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/