RBOC Requesting Public Hearing on Proposed Delta Drought Barriers

RBOC is greatly concerned about the negative impacts the emergency drought barriers being planned for three sloughs in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta will have on the boating community and economy, and is urging the US Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a public hearing on the proposal prior to its approval.

A public hearing would provide an essential opportunity to discuss concerns as soon as possible and prior to the announced construction in early May of this year.

The emergency drought barriers would be three rock dams constructed across Steamboat Slough, Sutter Slough and False River. RBOC’s concerns are that:

· There has not been a direct and serious engagement with the boating community in advance of a decision to proceed with the three barriers

· The three barriers would block key Delta waterways that are popular with boaters, during the prime boating season of May through December.

· The plan to accommodate boaters with boat ramps on the Steamboat Slough barrier is insufficient, as many boats navigating the slough exceed the under-twenty-two-foot limitation for the ramp and boat portage.

· The drought conditions have diminished significantly since the period of time when the plan was developed to proceed with the emergency drought barriers, calling into question the need for emergency barriers.

· There is no commitment to remove the barriers in November of 2014 as announced.

· If the state plans to retain the barriers, it is critical that operable boat locks be installed as an integral design component to provide boaters with the uninhibited ability to navigate in those waterways.

RBOC respectfully requests that an opportunity be provided for a meaningful dialogue with the boating community through a public hearing to discuss the plan, its impacts, and actions that can be taken to preserve free navigation. 

RBOC Taking Action on Proposed Delta Drought Barriers

RBOC is greatly concerned about the negative impacts the emergency drought barriers being planned for three sloughs in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta will have on the boating community and economy.

The emergency drought barriers would be three rock dams constructed across Steamboat Slough, Sutter Slough and False River, and could be in place in early May of this year.

RBOC is expressing concerns to the California Natural Resources Agency, Department of Water Resources, Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Boating and Waterways,  the US Coast Guard and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Concerns are that:

  • There has not been a direct and serious engagement with the boating community in advance of a decision to proceed with the three barriers
  • The three barriers would block key Delta waterways that are popular with boaters, during the prime boating season of May through December.
  • The plan to accommodate boaters with boat ramps on the Steamboat Slough barrier is insufficient, as many boats navigating the slough exceed the under-twenty-two-foot limitation for the ramp and boat portage.
  • The draught conditions have diminished significantly since the period of time when the plan was developed to proceed with the emergency drought barriers, calling into question the need for emergency barriers.
  • There is no commitment to remove the barriers in November of 2014 as announced.
  • If the state plans to retain the barriers, it is critical that operable boat locks be installed as an integral design component to provide boaters with the uninhibited ability to navigate in those waterways.

RBOC is requesting a meaningful dialogue with the boating community to discuss the plan, its impacts, and actions that can be taken to preserve free navigation in the Delta.

 

State Proposes Barriers Across Delta Sloughs

The State Department of Water Resources has announced its plans to place temporary barriers across specific sloughs in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in an effort to prevent further salinity intrusion up-stream due to the drought. Provisions are proposed to transport some boats around the barriers. For more information including maps: click here

RBOC Reviewing New Delta Documents for Boating Impacts

RBOC is reviewing the Draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and associated Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) that were released for public review earlier this month, in order to respond to any impacts the updated plan would have on recreational boating in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

With the previous draft, RBOC expressed great concern with specific proposals that would negatively impact recreational boaters’ access to existing Delta waterways and which would upset the delicate balance that enables the Delta to be a vigorous recreational opportunity of statewide and national significance. These impacts were not adequately addressed by either mitigations or other plans set forth in the draft. Negative impacts would occur in the immediate construction phase, as well as in the post-construction phase.

In its September 23 submittal to federal and state agencies, RBOC identified the negative boating impacts and urged the governmental agencies responsible for this project to consider the significant detrimental impacts the project would have on boating and recreation in the Delta, and to incorporate project revisions that will eliminate or at least substantially reduce these impacts.

For official information about the updated plans:

Bay Delta Conservation Plan Website

Bay Delta Conservation Pan Update: Formal Public Review of the BDCP and EIR/EIS to begin December 13, 2013

RBOC Urging LA Regional Water Board to Address Critical Issues Prior to Adoption of a Marina Del Rey Copper TMDL

RBOC is urging the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board [LARWQCB] to address several critical issues prior to adoption of a total maximum daily load [TMDL] for copper in Marina del Rey Harbor [MDR]. RBOC submitted a comment letter to the LARWQCB on January 10, setting forth the organization’s concerns and request:

It is RBOC’s belief that the TMDL proposed has not gone through the normal process required of TMDLs in the state of California. A technical document is required by the Clean Water Act. This technical document, as far as can be determined, was imported verbatim and is flawed because it is calculated for another harbor with different hydrology. The TMDL is directly dependent upon the volume of Marina del Rey yet the volume of Shelter Island Yacht Basin [SIYB] [60% of its size] is used in the calculation.

It is surprising that the TMDL does not appear to have undergone a third party review – a process which would catch these types of errors.

The short amount of time allowed for public comment over the holidays does not allow for our organization to perform as thorough a review of the document as we would have liked. Despite the short time afforded, we have several concerns.

There are significant breaches of applicable federal and state laws, and regulations:

  1. It is essential that any TMDL be based upon facts and science. Quoting from The Clean Water Act Section 101(a)(2): These criteria must reflect the latest scientific knowledge… And: EPA has made specific procedures available to States to derive site-specific criteria…
  2. No financial analysis is included in the TMDL. The California Water Code (Section 13241) specifically requires that several criteria, including economic cost be considered by a regional board in establishing water quality objectives.
  3. Recent germane science is overlooked. It is essential that proper consideration be given to such strong findings early in the TMDL process. Ample evidence has demonstrated the lack of toxicity from similar ambient concentrations of copper in the water column.
  • Neira, (2009), Spatial distribution of copper in relation to recreational boating in a California shallow-water basin demonstrated clearly that copper was sequester as a non-bioavailable complex and toxicity was absent to this natural process: SIYB is a likely self-detoxifying system despite continued releases of copper from hulls as copper is quickly complexed by natural ligands.
  • SPAWARs reached the same conclusion in 2010: Lack of ambient toxicity and verified protection by BLM suggest that SIYB is not impaired due to copper.
  • And most recently the DPR Study, Early [2013], showed that toxicity did not result from copper leaching from copper antifouling paints, and the process responsible was the same as the previously cited studies, non-bioavailability.
  • Recognizing the importance of bio-availability, RESOLUTION R2-2007-0042, amended the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay Region to Adopt Site-Specific Objectives for Copper. From the Final Report on the San Francisco Bay TMDL: Impairment Assessment Report for Copper and Nickel in Lower South San Francisco Bay [Tetra Tech Inc., 2000]. The results of the impairment assessment for copper support the following finding: Impairment to the Beneficial Uses of Lower South San Francisco Bay due to am