DPAC Minutes 2026-04-07

Meeting Minutes
Delta Protection Advisory Committee

Tuesday, April 7, 2026, 5:30 p.m.
The Reserve at Spanos Park
6301 West Eight Mile Rd., Stockton, CA 95219

Agenda

1. Call to Order and Flag Salute

Chair Anna Swenson called the meeting to order at 5:36 p.m.

2. Welcome and Roll Call

Clerk Heather McClure took the roll. Present were Chair Swenson; Vice Chair Russ Ryan; members Arron Pellarin, Craig Watanabe, Jeff Iniguez, Morris Lum, Stephanie Ponce (for Edward Hard), Erin Chappell, Jerred Dixon, Mariah Looney, Jeffrey Twitchell, Douglas Hsia, Steven Hutchason; and Ex Officio members Heather Swinney, Erin Mullin, and Karen Buhr. Member Emily Pappalardo arrived at 5:51 p.m. during Item 5.

3. Public Comment

Chair Swenson asked for public comment and there was one: Art Darden of Rio Vista said he had questions about the Delta Conveyance Project that he hasn’t found answers to: Is a 40-year-old project the best we can do? Water is supposed to be taken only when readily available, but how much will have to run through the tunnel regularly to maintain systems? Where will surplus water be stored? If there isn’t continuous flow through the tunnel, what will be done with contaminated water that’s been sitting in it for months?

4. Approval of December 2, 2025, and February 10, 2026, Meeting Minutes

Chair Swenson asked if there were any changes to the draft minutes; there were none.

Motion: Vice Chair Ryan motioned and member Iniguez seconded a motion to approve the minutes as drafted. The motion passed on a unanimous voice vote, with members Looney, Hutchason, Ponce, and Twitchell abstaining.

5. Update on Delta Protection Commission Activities

Delta Protection Commission Executive Director Amanda Bohl reported on DPC activities:

The 2025 Annual Report had been submitted to the Legislature.
The DPC was actively recruiting for a board clerk and environmental planner, and was beginning paperwork for the program manager position left vacant by a retirement.
A draft Delta Stewardship Council staff recommendation on appeals of the Delta Conveyance Project Certification of Consistency was expected imminently.

Chair Swenson asked whether there would be opportunities to comment on it; Bohl said yes, at the April 23-24 Council meeting.

The DPAC application deadline for seats with terms expiring in May had been extended to April 17.
The Delta National Heritage Area Passport Program was now live, with 27 Passport Stamping Stations.

Member Hsia noted that the NHA stamp is not distinctive enough for Locke, so Locke is considering redesigning the stamp to make it appropriate for the community. Vice Chair Ryan asked how many passport stamps have been given out; Bohl said that information is not currently being tracked (stamping stations are self-serve). Member Dixon noted that there had been discussion in the Delta Leadership Program of a digital stamp that could be recorded by scanning a QR code.

Chair Swenson asked if there were any comments from the public; there were none.

6. Presentation of AI in the Delta: The Environmental Justice Implications of Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta Presentation – Restore the Delta

Restore the Delta staff members Esther Mburu and Vanessa Buenrostro presented to the Committee about the presence and implications of AI data centers in the Delta.

Data centers typically have cooling systems that consume large amounts of water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Their energy use for one day can equal the power consumed by the entire city of San Francisco for three days or by 4,500 homes for a full year. Increased demand for power can drive up electricity prices.

There are currently two data centers in Stockton (one of which is in the Delta) and one in Tracy.

Water use can place strain on local utilities and affect groundwater. High temperatures of water discharged back into waterways can disrupt predator-prey interactions.

Two bills in the Legislature aim to address data centers: SB 1011 by Sen. Jerry McNerney and AB 2619 by Assm. Diane Papan.

Committee members engaged in a robust question-and-answer session with the presenters and Restore the Delta Executive Director Barbara Barrigan-Parilla, who was in the audience, addressing:

Ownership of the existing data centers (private, Mburu said).
What kind of water they use (one uses gray water, one is inserted into the water at the Port of Stockton, Mburu said).
Concern that discharge from data centers would warm waters that already have problems with harmful algal blooms.
Whether it’s possible to mitigate the impact of data centers to make them more environmentally friendly.
What data centers bring to the community (not many jobs, Buenrostro said).
Whether there are any siting requirements (there are not, Mburu said; data centers will go where there is energy and cooling sources, Barrigan-Parilla said; the danger for the Delta is we have the water, member Pellarin said).

7. Rivers and Levees Task Group: Work Session to Discuss how the Commission can Support the Maintenance and Improvement of Delta Levees

Member Emily Pappalardo said the primary problem facing Delta levees is funding for improvements. When funding is available, Reclamation Districts may struggle to meet the required cost-share of up to 25% with the Delta Levees Maintenance Subventions Program, and the requirement that they cover all costs up front. The latter results in monthly interest payments that many small districts simply cannot bear – in one case, $9,000 a month.

Vice Chair Ryan said funding has been a patchwork, which is not sustainable, noting the matter must be brought to the Legislature at some point. He said he has also been working on a strategy to reduce the local cost share, because you’re only as strong as your weakest link.

Member Dixon said having a standby barge parked in the Delta loaded with levee repair materials cost $180,000 a month, which is not reimbursable. Committee members suggested the Department of Water Resources should fund the standby barge, because it is cheaper than pumping out a flooded island.

Member Looney mentioned a bill – SB 872 by state Sen. Jerry McNerney – that would put $150 million into Delta levee improvements, noting that there was no opposition to the bill thus far: A diverse group including Northern and Southern California legislators, Restore the Delta, and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is on board.

Pappalardo stated that the money can’t be spent if the cost-share isn’t reduced. Member Chappell said in McNerney’s bill, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy would administer levee funds and set guidelines – cost-share could be addressed in the guidelines. Committee members discussed getting language about cost share added to McNerney’s bill.

Member Twitchell pointed out that the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan is being updated, which represents potential for the Delta’s needs to be prioritized, particularly for nine of the region’s Legacy Communities. Typically, he said, urban areas get most of the funding; he’s trying to get more money into the Delta.

Chair Swenson asked for public comment. Tom Slater, a member of the Delta Protection Commission, said the state is in a deficit, but there are ways to get the funding. “We’re billions behind where we should be,” he said. “It’s a convoluted mess, but money will solve a lot of it.”

8. Member Announcements and Next Meeting

Chair Swenson said the next meeting would be June 2.

Member Looney announced that she was stepping down from the Committee, noting it had been a joy to work with the group, but she had many other things going on right now.

Member Hsia noted that the Asian Pacific Spring Festival would be held in Locke on May 9.

Member Pappalardo reported that she had formed a new company: Tule Engineering, based in Walnut Grove.

Chair Swenson reported that she had been working with the River City Waterway Alliance on cleanups. The group ran out of trash to clean up in Elk Grove.

Member Pappalardo reported that there would be a Rotary workday April 27 in Walnut Grove, focusing on the levee in front of the finance district.

Chair Swenson offered her congratulations to the Delta Leadership Program 2026 Cohort.

9. Adjourn

Chair Swenson adjourned the meeting at 7:55 p.m.