DSC To Review Delta Plan Proposed Draft Outline at Council Meeting

The Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) will continue to make progress on the Delta Plan this week by reviewing two new White Papers and a Delta Plan proposed draft outline.

The Delta Plan will guide state and local agencies to help achieve the coequal goals of providing a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta ecosystem. White Papers are being prepared to describe historic and existing conditions and trends related to the Delta ecosystem. The two White Papers considered this month focus on agriculture and water resources. The White Papers and comments on them will be used to identify opportunities and strategies for the Delta Plan alternatives and to develop the Existing Conditions sections of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), a document legally required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that analyzes potential impacts. The first draft of the Delta Plan is scheduled to be presented at the February 2011 Council meeting after seven scoping meetings take place around the state in January 2011.

The DSC will also hear scientific reports on the following topics: climate indices that have been in recent news – El Nino (La Nina) Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO); the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP) progress report; and the Delta Independent Science Board Chair’s report...