In a 43-page letter sent Tuesday to the National Marine Fisheries Service and released publicly on the EPA’s website Thursday, the EPA said its research found that by diverting freshwater from three new intakes proposed on the Sacramento River – farther upstream from existing intakes – the project is likely to increase concentrations of salinity, mercury, bromide, chloride, selenium and pesticides in the estuary. The letter was submitted as part of the formal comment process for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, a $25 billion proposal by the state of California to re-engineer water diversions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The agency also notes that the project failed to analyze environmental effects both upstream and downstream of the Delta, particularly on San Francisco Bay. And it warns that overall harm to several native fish species, including endangered Delta smelt and longfin smelt, could increase relative to existing conditions because juvenile fish could become trapped by the new Sacramento River intakes or because their aquatic habitat could shrink. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan proposes to offset these effects by restoring 150,000 acres of habitat for fish and other species. But the EPA notes there is no evidence that much land is available to restore, or that restoration would be effective. sacbee/2014/08/28/6662668/epa-says-californias-delta-water.html
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 01:59:36 +0000
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