DPC Minutes 2025-11-03
Meeting Minutes
Delta Protection Commission
Thursday, November 3, 2025, 5-7 p.m.
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy Conference Room
1450 Halyard Drive, Suite 6, West Sacramento CA Agenda
Agenda
1. Call to Order and Flag Salute
Chair Diane Burgis called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
2. Welcome Executive Director Amanda Bohl and Roll Call
Burgis welcomed new Executive Director Amanda Bohl, who started on October 20 and noted that she had been reaching out to Commission members. Bohl said she was happy to be with the Commission.
Commission Clerk Heather McClure called the roll. Present at roll call: Chair Diane Burgis (via Teams); Commissioners Oscar Villegas, Pat Hume, Anissa Williams, David Kent, Cameron Bregman, Jim Paroli (via Teams), Tom Slater, Amanda Martin (for Wade Crowfoot), and Brian Bugsch (for State Lands Commission); and Ex Officio Member Designee Gary Prost for Senator Jerry McNerney (via Teams). Commissioner Christine Birdsong (for Karen Ross) joined the meeting in West Sacramento at 5:11 p.m. during Item 7; Ex Officio Member Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom joined via Teams at 6:01 p.m.
Also present were Counsel Nicole Rinke from the Attorney General’s Office and staff members Rachel Vanderwerff, Blake Roberts, and Holly Heyser (in West Sacramento) and Virginia Gardiner (via Teams).
Not present were Vice Chair John Vasquez; Commissioners Sonny Dhaliwal and Toks Omishakin; and Commissioner Alternate Dean Ruiz.
3. Public Comment – an opportunity for members of the public to address the Commission regarding items not on the agenda
Chair Burgis asked for public comment and there was none.
Consent Agenda
4. Approval of Draft Commission Meeting Minutes for September 18, 2025.
Motion: It was moved by Commissioner Villegas and seconded by Commissioner Hume to approve the September 18 meeting minutes; in a roll call vote, the motion passed 10-0-0, all Commissioners present voting aye.
Regular Agenda
5. Report on Delta Stewardship Council Activities – Chair Diane Burgis
Burgis reported that the October 23 Council meeting was fairly quick. The Delta Conveyance Project process has been moving forward. There was discussion of the Flood Preparedness Week Open House in Isleton and floodplain management, and a presentation from the Independent Science Board on findings of its activities.
Chair Burgis asked for public comment and there was none.
6. Report on Delta Protection Advisory Committee (DPAC) Activities – DPAC Chair Anna Swenson
DPAC Vice Chair Russ Ryan reported that DPAC did not meet in October. At its August 5 meeting, new members were welcomed and brought up to speed; DPC Program Manager Virginia Gardiner gave an excellent presentation on the Delta Conveyance Project Section 106 process for the Delta Conveyance Project; Delta Watermaster Jay Ziegler updated the group on agency activities; and Ryan gave a presentation on the South Delta sediment removal process – strategies and permits.
Chair Burgis asked for public comment and there was none.
7. Executive Director’s Report – Amanda Bohl, Executive Director
Bohl shared that the primary topic of the National Heritage Area Advisory Committee meeting on October 29 was a presentation by the Honey Agency about its early efforts on the tourism branding and marketing plan for the National Heritage Area.
She also noted that applications for the Delta Leadership Program, a joint effort of the DPC and the Delta Leadership Foundation, close November 21. Chair Burgis asked staff to send a link to DLP information to Commission members.
Chair Burgis asked for public comment and there was none.
8. Approval of 2026 Meeting Schedule – Amanda Bohl, Executive Director
Bohl explained that the Commission typically meets on the third Thursday of odd-numbered months, but that staff was recommending two variations: meeting one week earlier in November 2026 to avoid conflicts with the annual California State Association of Counties conference, and one week earlier in January to avoid conflicts with the anticipated three-day Delta Stewardship Council appeals hearing for the Delta Conveyance Project Certification of Consistency.
Chair Burgis noted that the January meeting might require remote attendance options to accommodate members’ schedules.
Motion: It was moved by Commissioner Martin and seconded by Commissioner Villegas to approve the 2026 meeting schedule with the recommended variations. In a roll call vote, the motion passed 11-0-0, all Commissioners present voting aye.
9. Consideration and Potential Approval of Proposed Consent Agreement with Department of Justice and Delegation of Authority to the Executive Director to Execute the Agreement – Amanda Bohl, Executive Director and Nicole Rinke, Counsel
Bohl explained that the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) provides counsel for multiple state agencies that work on Delta matters, with potential for agency positions on the matters to conflict. The State Bar rules of conduct allow the AGO to represent these agencies provide they give informed consent, which was last done in 2012.
The proposed updated informed consent is essentially the same as the 2012 agreement, but has been revised to reflect changes in the rules of professional conduct.
Counsel Rinke noted one operative section was paragraph three on page 63, which goes into effect when there is a claim against one client agency against another in the same proceeding.
Commissioner Birdsong asked whether this meant DPC’s counsel might have to recuse itself, and asked whether there is funding for outside counsel. Bohl said it might, and Rinke said it’s possible the Commission (and other state agencies) would need to hire outside counsel.
Chair Burgis asked about the confidentiality of communications with client agencies, and Rinke noted that there are walls in place to prevent communications with counsel that represent other agencies.
Commissioner Hume said he wanted more specificity, saying he wanted to make sure part of the firewall is that Rinke would not be representing multiple agencies. He noted that the AGO is a political one, and said he assumed professional conduct as an attorney supersedes any direction coming from the top.
Rinke said the decision about how this addressed is not a political one under the rules of professional conduct.
Chair Burgis asked for public comment and there were none.
Motion: It was moved by Commissioner Villegas and seconded by Commissioner Slater to authorize the Executive Director to sign the consent agreement on behalf of the Commission. In a roll call vote, the motion passed 11-0-0, all Commissioners present voting aye.
10. Discussion Regarding the Department of Water Resource’s Submittal of a Certification of Consistency for the Delta Conveyance Project to the Delta Stewardship Council on October 17, 2025, and the Commission’s Procedural Options for a Potential Response – Virginia Gardiner, Program Manager
Chair Burgis recused herself and left the meeting. Vice Chair Vasquez was unable to attend, so Commissioner Oscar Villegas led the remainder of the meeting.
Bohl noted that the staff was not requesting specific action, just feedback and information about how Commissioners’ constituents were reacting to the filed Certification of Consistency for the Delta Conveyance Project.
Program Manager Gardiner briefed the Commission on its authorities with regard to the certification and its options: a) provide comment to the Delta Stewardship Council regarding the DCP’s consistency with the Delta Plan, and provide comments assisting the Council in evaluating appeals regarding the certification of consistency, b) appeal the certification by the November 17 deadline, c) do both A and B, or d) do nothing.
Bohl noted that staffing and budget limitations for counsel would make options B and C challenging, and option D would be inconsistent with past actions regarding the Delta Conveyance Project and its predecessors.
Commissioner Kent said one belief driving the project is that it is a foregone conclusion, leading proponents to question not whether it should be built, but whether it has been properly engineered “We’ve had atrocities committed in history through facilities that were expertly engineered,” he said.
He said he thinks this has to be appealed to a higher authority – the federal government.
Commissioner Hume said he did not disagree with Kent’s conclusions, and that he comes back to the three legs of the stool created with the Delta Reform Act: The Delta Conservancy, which funds great projects restoring the damage to the ecosystem and enhancing the cultural and economic significance of the Delta; the Delta Stewardship Council, which is quasi-judicial and looking at the implementation of the Delta Plan; and this body, which is the last bastion of support for the Delta as a place. “This is really the voice for the flora, the fauna, the farmers, the flyway, the fisheries, and the economy that the Delta represents,” he said.
He cited the Commission’s strategic plan (Vision 2030), which calls for supporting Delta water solutions that reduce reliance on Delta water, provide through-Delta conveyance, and protect and enhance the Delta’s natural resources, recreation, agriculture, adjacent urban areas and economies, “period, full stop. That is why we exist.”
“…If you take the price tag for this one project and line it up with a laundry list of other things that we could do with that same money, to me it’s a fool’s errand to continue pursuing this project,” he said. “We need to make that case as loudly and as strongly as we can. … If not us, who?”
Commissioner Williams said other Commission members had brought up concerns she’d heard from her constituents. Her only concern was about staff’s capacity.
Commissioner Slater said he thinks the project is not a done deal, and that he believed staff could be successful. “There’s no ‘give up’ in anybody in the Delta,” he said. He said the state gave the Commission the right to appeal; “I say, use it.”
He said he didn’t think anyone could argue that the project wouldn’t destroy the east side of the Delta.
Ex Officio Designee Gary Prost raised concerns that seismic risk to Delta levees was one of the stated reasons for the project, but the money being spent on the project is “not protecting the Delta; it’s just protecting the export water. … We can’t just destroy one section of the state or leave it vulnerable in order to protect the water for another part of the state. Benefits have to be shared. Sacrifices have to be shared.”
Commissioner Cameron Bregman noted as the newest Commissioner, he’s supposed to be the quietest, “so I will do just that. But I’d like to say you guys will have my support.”
Prost added that it would cost $3.2 billion to bring Delta levees up to standards, which sounds like a lot less than $20 billion.
Commissioner Amanda Martin said the Natural Resources Agency supports the Delta Conveyance Project because it is important for a sustainable water supply in the face of climate change.
Commissioner Slater said the effort to meet those goals can be done right for the entire state. He said the “you’re taking our water” animosity that was present during debates about the Peripheral Canal isn’t there today; everyone is sitting at the same table now.
Ex Officio Member Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, who had joined the meeting via Teams, said she appreciated where the process was going and seconded the idea that the Commission weigh in on the project.
Commission members discussed with Director Bohl and Counsel Rinke various options for the Commission’s role – appealing, commenting on other appellants’ appeals, and/or commenting on the certification, all of the above, and none of the above – and the weight various types of participation could carry; and the possibility that the Commission might not have representation available from the Department of Justice. Commission members noted that the “all of the above” option ensured that all doors remained open to the Commission.
Commissioner Villegas asked for public comment, and there were two:
Anna Swenson, chair of the Delta Protection Advisory Committee, told the Commission: “Everything you said is exactly how we feel. Your choice to participate is going to be very stimulating for people in the Delta because we feel tired. We’ve got to keep going because we’ve won up until this point. Thank you on behalf of the people of the Delta for fighting for us.”
Lori Kent, co-chair of the Isleton Historic Preservation Review Board, told the Commission that the tunnel project is in direct opposition to the Commission’s charter. “Every person I’ve spoken to in the seven years I’ve lived here, every person I’ve run into at fairs and festivals, people always bring up the tunnels. We not only oppose the tunnel solution; we fear it. We’re afraid of it because we know there’s going to be irreversible harm done to this Delta region. The only question is how much harm will we tolerate? How much harm will be allowed to be done by a few people who are railroading the public?”
11. Commissioner Comments/Announcements
Commissioner Villegas asked for other Commissioner comments and announcements, and there were none.
12. Adjourn
Commissioner Villegas adjourned the meeting at 6:32 p.m.