DPC Letter: Tide’s End Multibenefit Restoration Project

    The Delta Protection Commission reviews hundreds of local and regional land use projects in the Primary and Secondary zones of the Delta for consistency with the Land Use and Resource Management Plan (PDF) and submits comment letters to ensure projects stay on track with the Plan. Under state law (Public Resources Code Sections 29770-29772), any action taken by a local government or agency in the Primary Zone that is inconsistent with the Plan can be appealed to the Commission. Appeals may be brought by any interested person, or by the Commission itself. Learn more here.

    August 13, 2024

    Judah Grossman
    Division of Multibenefit Initiatives
    Department of Water Resources
    PO Box 942836
    Sacramento, CA 94236-0001

    Dear Mr. Grossman:

    We are providing combined comments on the notice of preparation (NOP) for the Tide’s End Multibenefit Restoration Project Supplemental Environmental Impact Report. This project would convert approximately 2,212 acres of agricultural land in the Delta Primary Zone.

    The Delta Protection Commission (Commission) is a state agency charged with ensuring orderly and balanced conservation and development of Delta land resources and improved flood protection in the Primary Zone. The Commission performs planning work to further the State’s basic goals for the Delta consistent with the Delta Protection Act (California Public Resources Code Section 29700 et seq.). The Commission is thus commenting as a state agency concerned with the best environmental outcomes for the Delta, consistent with state policy as defined in the Delta Protection Act.

    The Notice of Preparation Mischaracterizes the Relationship to the SRGO EIR; a Subsequent Environmental Impact Report Is Required

    The notice of preparation (NOP) indicates that the project is tiered from the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) programmatic environmental impact report (PEIR) for the Order for Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification and Waste Discharge Requirements for Restoration Projects Statewide also referred to as the “Statewide Restoration General Order” (SRGO). The NOP further states that a supplemental environmental impact report (SEIR) is appropriate because “only minor changes or additions would be necessary to make a previous EIR adequately apply to the project. . .” (14 Cal. Code of Regulations Section 15163). Because the SWRCB PEIR does not consider the Delta as a place of special designation, and impacts associated with conversion of agriculture in the Delta specifically, the scope of impacts exceeds minor changes or additions to the SWRCB PEIR. For this reason, a subsequent EIR is more appropriate. A subsequent EIR is used when “Substantial changes are proposed in the project which will require major revisions of the previous EIR or negative declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects” (14 Cal. Code of Regulations Section 15162(a)(1)). The next heading explains the facts supporting this assertion.

    The Impacts Associated with Conversion of Agricultural Land Are Substantially More Severe and Different Than Those Analyzed in the SWRCB PEIR

    The project area contains unique farmland and other farmland as mapped by the California Department of Conservation (DOC 2022). The project area also occurs in the Primary Zone of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The State of California has adopted a policy of protecting the agricultural landscape of the Delta through specific policies in the Delta Protection Act (Cal. Public Resources Code Section 29702). To further these goals the Commission has adopted a Land Use and Resource Management Plan (LURMP) that is also incorporated into the California Code of Regulations. These regulations include the policy of supporting the viability of agriculture and discouraging inappropriate development (14 Cal. Code of Regulations Section 20070(b)). In addition, the State of California has adopted a policy of protecting the economic sustainability of the Delta via economic sustainability planning (Cal. Public Resources Code Section 29759). Agricultural land uses and activities are the cornerstone of the Delta economy. A dollar of agricultural crop revenue generates three to five times greater regional income than other leading revenue sources such as recreation or tourism (Delta Protection Commission 2012:274).

    Because the project area contains agricultural land that is subject to the protective policies of the Delta Protection Act and the regulations adopted by the Commission, the conversion of this land will create significant and unavoidable impacts different than those identified in the SWRCB PEIR. The SWRCB PEIR does conclude that conversion of agricultural land is significant and unavoidable (SWRCB 2022:3.3-9), but it does not consider the Delta Protection Act or the Commission’s regulations. In addition, the SWRCB concludes that indirect conversion of farmland created by restoration work tiered from the PEIR will not result in significant indirect impacts associated with conversion of agricultural land (see Impact 3.3-3, SWRCB 2022:3.3-16). Because the Delta economy consists of an integrated array of agricultural producers, transporters, and packing and processing facilities, the decline in agricultural land use diminishes the sustainability of associated necessary services such as trucking, packing and shipping. The decline in the viability of these ancillary industries then has a feedback loop on the sustainability of agriculture itself. In summary, the impact on Delta agriculture specifically, and the indirect effects on agricultural sustainability are not contemplated in the SWRCB PEIR.

    Recommendations for Analysis and Mitigation

    We recommend that the EIR for the project:

    • Specifically analyze the impact on Delta agriculture relative to the State policy of protecting these land uses,
    • Analyze and mitigate indirect impacts on agricultural sustainability,
    • Incorporate and adopt the mitigation in the SWRCB PEIR, which includes conservation of equivalent land at least a 5:1 ratio (5 acres preserved for each acre the project converts),
    • Consider in the cumulative impact section the full suite of cumulative projects including but not limited to the Zacharias Ranch Mitigation Bank proposed in Sacramento County, and the Habitat Conservation Plan for which DWR recently issued a NOP for mitigation of the long-term operations of the State Water Project, and,
    • Commit to complying with the legal duty to pay relevant special benefit assessments for maintenance of levees and other services that apply within the project boundaries, consistent with California Constitution Article XIII D, Section 4.

    If you have any questions, please contact our Senior Environmental Planner, Mike Aviña at Mike.Avina@delta.ca.gov, or at (530) 750-6727.

    Sincerely,

    Bruce Blodgett signature
    Bruce Blodgett, Executive Director
    Delta Protection Commission

    References Cited

    California Department of Conservation (DOC). California Important Farmland Finder. 2022. Sacramento, California.

    California Department of Water Resources (DWR). Notice of Preparation: Environmental Impact Report for the State Water Project Delta Field Division Operations and Maintenance Habitat Conservation Plan. 2024a. Sacramento, California.

    Delta Protection Commission. Economic Sustainability Plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. 2012. West Sacramento, California.