Monday January 27, 2025
DWR via Maven’s Notebook —
Today the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) affirmed that the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) planned geotechnical investigations are not a “Covered Action” under the Delta Reform Act. Therefore, the DSC dismissed all appeals on the grounds that it does not have jurisdiction over these planned geotechnical activities.
In order to come to that conclusion, the DSC considered whether project proponents can consider portions of a project in the Delta Plan consistency process. In consideration of the scope of the 2024-2026 Proposed Geotechnical Activities, the DSC found that DWR was able to consider geotechnical activities independently from the Delta Conveyance Project.
Although the 2024-2026 Proposed Geotechnical Activities are not a Covered Action, the activities are important. They are expected to yield important data about soil properties and water quality. This data, in turn, will inform the planning and design of the Delta Conveyance Project as well as the extensive list of future funding and permitting decisions that are required before DWR could implement the Delta Conveyance Project.
DWR appreciates the time and effort the DSC put into the hearing process and agrees with their conclusion. Based on the DSC decision, DWR hopes to proceed with this important data collection work in the near future.