Thursday January 29, 2026
Maven’s Notebook —
Environmental advocates and Tribal leaders today spoke out against the inequitable and misleading Voluntary Agreements within the latest Bay-Delta Plan update – a critical policy governing water quality, river flows, and ecosystem protection for California’s largest and most fragile estuary – during a virtual press conference.
A key component of the updated Bay-Delta Plan is the State’s proposed Voluntary Agreements (VAs), privately negotiated deals in which powerful water districts offer limited flow commitments and funding in exchange for exemptions from stronger, enforceable regulatory requirements.