The recent move by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny to invalidate the Brown administration’s Delta Plan is good news for water reform advocates. The Delta Plan was an administration blueprint to restore the beleaguered Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta. That was its putative purpose, at least. In reality, it was a flawed — even cynical — document drawn up by Department of Water Resources staffers to expedite construction of the Twin Tunnels , Governor Brown’s massive and prohibitively expensive megaproject that would drain the Delta of life-sustaining freshwater for export to the corporate farms of the western San Joaquin Valley.
Judge Kenny determined the plan does not conform to state law because it contains only “recommendations” for export flows, not clear, quantified and enforceable targets. And without a legally sound Delta Plan, the Twin Tunnels cannot move forward. As lead litigants in the lawsuit that resulted in the decision, we at the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) are deeply gratified.
But Judge Kenny’s ruling is only a respite for Twin Tunnels foes, not a definitive victory. The Brown administration will certainly exercise the option of revising the plan so that it meets statutory benchmarks; if the courts approve any such revised plan, the administration will move forward with the tunnels project.