“Friends of the River stands firmly in opposition to granting the water rights to build the $4.8 billion Sites Reservoir,” said Jann Dorman, Executive Director of Friends of the River, in a statement. However, the protest filed by the groups argues that Sites ”would have adverse environmental impacts, would not best conserve the public trust, would not best conserve the public interest,” and “would be in conflict with a general or coordinated plan or with water quality objectives established pursuant to law. The Sites Project Authority, created In August 2010 when seven regional entities, including several local water agencies and counties executed the Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement, claims on their website that “Sites Reservoir would capture and store stormwater flows from the Sacramento River – after all other water rights and regulatory requirements are met – for release in dry and critical years for environmental use and for California communities, farms, and businesses when it is so desperately needed.” The Sites Reservoir Project, an off stream water storage facility being promoted by the California Department of Water Resources under the Gavin Newsom administration, would be located on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, approximately 10 miles west of Maxwell in Glenn and Colusa Counties. The coalition includes the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, AquAlliance, California Water Impact Network, Cal Wild, Fly Fishers of Davis, Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk, Northern California Council of Fly Fishers International, Restore the Delta, Save California Salmon, Sierra Club California, and Water Climate Trust. The announcement comes just weeks after Friends of the River (FOR) and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), along with a coalition of tribes and environmental organizations, on August 31 submitted a protest against the water rights application and petitions of the Sites Project Authority for the proposed Sites Reservoir. ”Įnvironmental groups and tribes filed protest against Sites water rights application Instructions on how to create an accessible document can be found on OPR’s Accessibility Page. However, we encourage public comments to be submitted in a format that complies with State and federal accessibility requirements and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, or a subsequent version, published by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium at a minimum Level AA success criteria. Public comments submitted to OPR will be considered regardless of the format in which they are received. “I’m disappointed by this development and sincerely hope that the Sites Project Authority provides additional time for the public,” said Ashley Overhouse, Water Policy Advisor, California Program, Defenders of Wildlife, in response to the announcement. “The Sites Project Authority’s final environmental impact report is expected to be released to the public later this fall and the timing of this application is no coincidence.” The Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) “studies future research and planning needs, fosters goal-driven collaboration, and delivers guidance to state partners and local communities, with a focus on land use and community development, climate risk and resilience, and high road economic development,” according to the OPR website.Įnvironmental, Tribal and fish advocates aren’t happy with the short period for public comment - and believe more time is needed for the public to submit their comments. “Public comments will be accepted on the application until Monday, October 23, 2023,” the announcement notes. “The application can be accessed on OPR’s website. “An application for certification under the Infrastructure Streamlining Program has been submitted to the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) for the Sites Reservoir Project,” the announcement states. This was definitely the case on October 10 when the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) announced a comment period regarding the Sites Reservoir project that only lasts 13 days. You know a government agency is probably not serious about obtaining much public comment on an environmentally destructive project like the Sites Reservoir project when they provide only a short period to comment in.
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