The holiday season is rapidly approaching and the State of California is betting on this distraction to prevent fishermen and women and all of those directly impacted by conditions in the Bay-Delta and its tributaries from telling their stories – speaking directly to the Water Resources Control Board about the hardships faced with the continued decline of salmon and this year’s fishery closure. We can’t let that happen!
Register To Speak At An Upcoming Hearing
You will have the option to select between 2 upcoming State Water Board public hearings: December 1 (9:30am) and December 11 (12pm). The State Water Board has a duty to protect our fisheries and they must hear directly from those impacted by their failures to secure the river flows and water temperatures salmon need to survive and thrive.
The current requirements pertaining to river temperatures and flows were adopted way back in 1995, nearly three decades ago. There’s been a complete failure of these antiquated policies, which can be seen in the collapse of salmon runs, the current salmon fishing shutdown, loss of fishing industry jobs and businesses, growing algae blooms and many salmon species on the brink of extinction.
According to the State Water Resources Control Board
The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board or Board) has posted a revised notice of availability and opportunity for public comment, hearing, and staff workshops on the Bay-Delta draft Staff Report in support of possible Sacramento River and Delta updates to the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (Bay-Delta Plan) to its website. A summary of changes and related reminders is provided below.
December 11 Hearing Day Extended
The remaining hearing days are now scheduled for the following dates and start times:
- December 1, 2023 beginning at 9:30 am
- December 11, 2023 beginning at 12:00 pm
In addition, to accommodate the large number of speakers registered for the hearing, individual comments will be limited to 3 minutes instead of 5 minutes to make sure all speakers have a chance to speak during the 3-day hearing.
Hearing Participation
If you intend to provide public comments at the hearing, staff are requesting that you submit a registration form as soon as possible to facilitate planning for the hearing.
However, you may register up until the hearing day you intend to participate in. Panel presentations should be identified as soon as possible to ensure adequate time is allotted for those presentations. Additionally, speakers should only make comments on one hearing day to ensure all interested parties have a chance to speak.
Staff will provide an abbreviated presentation at the hearing in order to allow as much time as possible for public comments. Before the hearing, interested parties are encouraged to watch the recordings of previous staff workshops and review other resources available on the Sacramento/Delta webpage for a detailed overview of the draft Staff Report.