Thread by @RestoretheDelta

Tonight we are at the last Delta Tunnel Scoping Meeting in Redding. @CaliSalmon and the @winnememwintu Tribe organized a rally beforehand. We will be live tweeting the meeting and comments.

A clip of the rally before the meeting.

More pictures of the rally walking into the scoping meeting.

This scoping meeting will start like all other scoping meetings and that is with a presentation from DWR. It has not yet started, but live tweeting will begin after the presentation. The room is packed and we anticipate many speakers tonight.

The presentation has now started.

While waiting for live tweets, a must watch video. Hear what Stockton youth think of Delta management, the tunnel, & area water & air pollution.

There is a hard stop on this room so each speaker will get 2 minutes 30 seconds.

The mayor of Shasta Lake, Janice Powell, starts public comment with recognition that we are on Wintu land. She points out that the NOP does not mention anything about fish or habitat, and that the NOP does not mention any alternative.

Margo Robbins of the Yurok tribe asks DWR to include the impacts of the project to the Trinity and Klamath Rivers. She says that the rivers already do not have enough water and this project will do more harm to the fish and the people.

A resident of the area supports the Newsom administration’s lawsuit against the Trump administration’s water plan but says that it is not enough to protect the salmon. She says that the endless water grab needs to end and that the only way is #NoTunnel.

Another resident says that 20 years ago, there was too much water being taken from the Delta. She is here today to speak for future generations and that the water belongs to the people, not to Big Ag.

DWR has asked the Sheraton for a time extension on the room to accommodate all of the speakers tonight.

A tribal member from the Klamath area says that she drove a long way to be here tonight to represent her community. She is here to tell DWR that they need to seriously consider the adverse effects of this project on the Klamath and Trinity rivers.

A Hoopa Valley resident/Yurok tribal member says that she has seen in her lifetime the degradation of the river and recants the harm it has done to her community. She says she has been fighting her entire life& that she doesn’t know if DWR is actually listening to tribal folks.

A representative of the California Indian Water Commission says that they do not support the project and strongly urges Governor Newsom to reconsider this project.

A Redding resident is concerned about the amount of water that this project will take, especially if used in conjunction with current infrastructure.

Tom Stokely of @CaliSalmon says that the talk of “increased water reliability” means “increased water exports”. Asks DWR to be honest about if Trinity River water will be pumped through a tunnel and also asks for protections of Trinity River. Says there are many other solutions.

A representative of @ggsalmon opposes the project. He says that the @CaWaterBoards has not done their due diligence in updating the Water Quality Control Plan and that needs to happen before any conveyance project is considered.

Morningstar Gali says that the EIR needs to analyze the cumulative impacts of current and future exports on salmon and tribal communities need to be thoroughly analyzed.

A Yurok tribal member says that no more will people stand by and watch it happen and that the people of California have had enough.

A Hoopa Valley High School water protector recalls her grandmother’s stories of the river and she says that the world needs more peacemakers and healers, not more wealthy, greedy people.

A Redding resident who studies indigenous people says that she doesn’t see anything about indigenous people being considered in this project.

A tribal elder says that this project is a moral issue. She says that #cawater hierarchy is issuing paper water and that the impacts of the degradation of the Sacramento River because of water exports has impacted the Trinity and Klamath Rivers.

A resident of the area says that the only tunnel option is a #NoTunnel option.

A veteran Shasta fly fisher recalls the decline of salmon and says that it ludicrous for DWR to even consider this project because of that. He mentions that fall of many types of salmon and if we lose the remaining salmon populations, other species will soon follow in extinction.

A tribal member recognizes the many tribes represented in the room and acknowledges that we are on occupied Wintu land tonight. He mentions that what happened in Owens Valley and says that is being done to the North State tribes.

.@ChiefCaleenSisk recalls the raise of Shasta Dam and the destruction that it did to her tribe and the residents. She says that CA needs to become a salmon state again. She asks when the questions asked at these meetings will be answered and that so far, none have been answered.

Molly Culton of @SierraClubCA says This project will have detrimental impacts on CA's salmon population that many indigenous and non-indigenous communities depend on. Capturing and diverting more freshwater from an already-collapsing ecosystem will only worsen conditions. (1/4)

“&will not provide the project's proponents with any new water that is beneficial or cheaper. As such, we encourage your department to ensure that the EIR thoroughly consider consider a #NoTunnel alternative that analyzes the state’s use of and investment in local programs (2/4)

“and projects relating to water conservation and efficiency measures, along with others, that achieve the same water reliability goals, and expend less energy, as the proposed project.(3/4)

“Doing so will ensure that enough water continues to run through the ecosystems and communities that depend on these ecosystems will once again have the opportunity to thrive. (4/4)

A professional sports fisherman from the area recalls the collapse of fisheries in the early 90s and has been fighting for fish protections ever since. He says that this project is not beneficial for the raising of fish in California.

A Karuk tribal member says that her whole life and career has been dedicated to the protection of her tribe’s resources and culture. She hopes that DWR actually analyzes and takes cultural resources into consideration in the EIR.

A young tribal member says that the Klamath River is the center of life for her people. She says that the diversion of water is genocide of indigenous people along the rivers.

A resident says that this project will only benefit big corporate interests, like Westlands Water District, and that the remaining salmon will not survive the Trump Administration’s biological opinions.

A Chico resident says that this project is unsustainable and no changes made to this project will ever make it sustainable.

Another Chico resident says DWR needs to listen to the voices of indigenous people who have been stewarding this land for thousands of years.

A resident points out the connection between David Bernhardt, Westlands Water District, and water exports in the state. She says that she has seen the mismanagement of #cawater that has been going on for years.

A tribal resident says that the materials of this project are misleading. He says that without Owens Valley, there is no Hollywood, and without the Hoopa Valley, there is no Bay Area. He asks for indigenous-led solutions instead of band-aid solutions like this project.

The meeting has been extended to 8:45.

A resident points out that more flows out to the Bay, instead of through pumps, are needed to protect already fragile fish populations. He says that this project is about greed at the expense of the California people.

A young Hoopa Valley tribe member and water protector says that the river is a healing place and she would be ashamed if her children did not know the river. She says that she left school early to fight for a basic necessity.

A member of the Pit-River tribe says that this project effects all people and asks DWR to consider what everyone in the room is saying.

A young resident recalls that he grew up fishing and that everyone deserves enough water to function, not just corporate agriculture.

A young Hoopa tribal member says that the river is a sacred place to her and her people and that it is only 1/3 of the size that is was 40 years ago. She says that she is thankful for what is left, but also says that more of it shouldn’t be taken.

A fisherman from the area says that the river system should be left alone and that the water should not be sold to corporate farmers in the desert.

A resident of the Klamath River brings up the importance of flows to the Pacific Ocean for salmon populations. He says that his area relies on salmon and this project will hurt already fragile fish populations.

Shasta County resident says that the #cawater grab started in the 1920s and that this project has been in the works ever since then.

Regina Chichizola from @CaliSalmon says that the only reason this hearing is happening in Redding is because of the large tribal presence at the Sacramento meeting. She says that Gov Newsom needs to actually listen to indigenous communities that often travel 6+ hours for meetings

A tribal member says that her ancestors have lived on these lands for many generations, since before the existence of the United States, and that this project will only create destruction to the environment and the people.

A Hoopa tribal member recalls the 2002 Klamath River fish kill as a child and the destructive impact that it had on his people. He says that his inherent responsibility is to protect what is left of the land and that this project goes against everything he has learned.

The last speaker of the night is a resident from the area who acknowledges and agrees with everyone who has spoken tonight. She questions what happens with this project if another drought happens, especially considering the increase of wildfires.

And now, the eighth and final public scoping meeting is over. Just a reminder that the public comment period ends on March 20th. You can submit comments here: