Wolk resource bill passes key Senate committee

AB 797 would strengthen Delta Protection Commission, increase protection for region.

The Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee voted today to pass legislation by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis) to strengthen the Delta Protection Commission.

The Delta Protection Commission needs to live up to its name,” said Assemblywoman Wolk. “The region is experiencing astounding growth, which will have repercussions on the Delta. We need a strong Delta Protection Commission to protect water quality, flood control, agriculture and the environment.”

The Delta is a widespread area of waterways that cover San Francisco Bay and stretch north and south along the rivers in the Delta watershed, and provides irrigation water to 4 million acres of land and drinking water to over 20 million people. Since 1992, when the Delta Protection Act and the Delta Protection Commission were established, roughly 45,000 acres of agricultural land in the Delta region have been converted to urban uses. By 2025, the region is expected to grow by almost 1.5 million people.

Assembly Bill 797 would expand the Delta Protection Commission’s membership to include public representation, and would require a report on the effectiveness of the Resources Management Plan, in respect to growth pressures from the secondary zone, agricultural land conversions, and subdivisions. The report would then recommend changes to the Delta Protection Act to increase the plan’s effectiveness. The bill also expands the Williamson Act to allow for easement exchange among counties within the Delta.

What really needs to happen here is that the commission needs to be mended, not ended,” said Wolk in her testimony. “The basic function of the commission and the reason for its existence hasn’t changed. But the challenges around it have changed.”

Speaking in support of the bill were representatives of Sierra Club California, California Waterfowl, and the Resource Landowners Coalition. Among the bill’s other supporters are the Planning and Conservation League and Native Plant Society.