California “Water Fix”

CIEA Testimony to the State Water Resources Control Board for DWR & BORs change request to the Water Board can be found here: CIEA_EJCW WaterFix_Testimony_editedJan 2018

Note that our original submission asserted that Tribes outside of the footprint area had not been included in Consultation properly.  However the court case we were invited to file under was for Public Trust and not CEQA.  We amended our submission so that it is more closely tied with public trust.

The public and Tribes can provide in person statements at the Water Board hearing on January 18th at the CA EPA office in Sacramento at 1001 I Street.

The following was received from Water Board Staff for more information:

The August 31, 2017 Ruling Letter informed participants that policy statements will begin on January 18, 2018 at 9:30am. (See page 8 of the hyperlinked ruling letter:Â https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/bay_delta/california_waterfix/ruling_notices/docs/20170831_cwf_ruling.pdf)

The October 30, 2015 Notice of Petition details policy statements and may be informative. (See page 32 section 4 of the hyperlinked ruling letter:Â https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/bay_delta/california_waterfix/docs/cwfnotice_pet_hrg.pdf)

On January 18, 2018 any person or group may present a policy statement by filling out a blue card, blue cards will be available in the hearing room. Policy statements may also be received in writing before and after the 18^th. Please email the Hearing email address at: CWFhearing@waterboards.ca.govwith any policy statements. Policy statements received after the 18^th will also be reviewed by the Board and all of the parties will be notified of those policy statements.

For more information about policy statements please consult California Code of Regulations, Title 23 section 648.1. (See document page 10 of the hyperlinked url:Â https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/laws_regulations/docs/wrregs.pdf)

To find our more about CIEA’s programs or ways that you can get involved visit our Self-Advocacy Page.

 

Statewide Mercury Program- State Water Resources Control Board

http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/mercury/

Statewide Reservoir & Lakes Program:Jerry Bruns, Environmental PRogram Manager, Central Valley Regional Water Board (916)464-4831

Statewide Fish Tissue Objective:Rik Rasmussen, Chief of the Mercury TMDL Unit, Planning, Standards, and Implementation Unit, State Water Board (916) 341-5549

Tribal Fish Consumption Survery:To understand California Tribes’ Use of Fish to Support Development of Protective Water Quality Standards: Fraser Shilling, Ph.D. Department of   Environmental Science & Policy University of California, Davis, 530-752-7859

On the right side of the page there is link to sign up for SWRCB emails.

Why California should turn down Trump’s offer to raise…

These sea stars are vanishing from the Pacific Ocean

The sunflower sea star has disappeared from the Pacific Ocean, impacting the area’s marine ecology.

Watch the video here.

Mexico border wall: Demolition of US National Butterfly Centre…

A butterfly sanctuary is about to be demolished to make way for President Donald Trump’s hotly contested border wall between the United States and Mexico, prompting outrage and protests from Native American and conservationist groups.

On Monday, bulldozers and heavy machinery were spotted at the National Butterfly Centre in Misson, Texas, indicating the start of the border wall construction that will plough right through the protected habitat.

Read more.

Trump issues executive order to increase logging and deforestation…

With a partial government shutdown looming, President Donald Trump quietly issued an executive order that expands logging on public land on the grounds that it will curb deadly wildfires.

more

California Water Plan Update 2018

The California Indian Environmental Alliance is submitting these comments to the California Water Plan Update 2018. We are appreciative of the outreach that DWR conducted in order to update this Water Plan. We would have preferred to have a longer comment period after the Draft document was released since this year has been extremely difficult for communities and Tribes in California and this comment period coincided with multiple other periods for environmental programs and policies.

Recap: Indian Country celebrates Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland

https://www.indianz.com/News/2019/01/04/recap-indian-country-celebrates-sharice.asp

URGENT NODAPL solidarity action Wednesday 11/30: DIVEST THE BANKS!

CIEA Letter to President Obama – STOP DAKOTA ACCESS…

September 7, 2016
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Ms. Jo-Ellen Darcy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) US Army Corps of Engineers
108 Army Pentagon Washington, DC 20310

RE: Halt Construction and Repeal the Army Corps of Engineers Permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline Project

Dear President Obama and Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy,

The California Indian Environmental Alliance (CIEA) stands in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux, other Indian Nations and communities throughout the United State in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) being built by Dakota Access LLC/Energy Transfer Partners.

The Dakota Access Pipeline will carry 450,000 barrels of oil per day through the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s ancestral lands and aquatic systems. A spill from this pipeline is statistically probable. We are concerned that the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota would run under the Missouri River and destroy sacred cultural resources. Families with children, women and elders of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, other Native Nations and allies are protecting and defending the water, sensitive wildlife habitat, sacred ancestral remains and other significant cultural sites. Such an episode will impact culturally sensitive areas and threaten natural resources integral to the physical health and cultural well-being of thousands of Tribal members of numerous Tribes, as well as the down-river communities and families who rely on the continued environmental health of this watershed

This project and other such pipelines should not be allowed under Nationwide Permit 12 given the risks to the environment and to Native American cultural resources. Any pipeline construction plan should be reviewed and go through a transparent Clean Water Act 404 permitting process, which includes a formal tribal consultation process, environmental review, public notice and a public participation process. Nationwide Permit 12 circumvents these requirement under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act, and is in violation of the Native American Graves Protection, Repatriation and the National Historic Preservation Acts.

Consultation with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe should have been completed prior to implementation of the plan to construct the Dakota Access Pipeline. Such consultation is in accordance with Executive Order B-10-11 and federal trust responsibilities guaranteed in the 1851 and 1868 treaties between the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota tribes.

It is for all of these reasons that we support those taking action to peacefully block the construction of DAPL and who remind us that “Water is Life.” Water is our most precious and threatened resource and should be protected for the benefit of all people, including those most at risk from toxins: pregnant women, their fetuses and young children. CIEA provides health advice to families in California on how to avoid toxins in water, fish, shellfish and other traditional aquatic food sources. The best way to reduce exposure from toxins is to ensure that they are not introduced to aquatic systems.

In conclusion we call on your administration and the Army Corps of Engineers to:
 Immediately halt the construction of Dakota Access Pipeline
 Complete a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for this and each associated stretch of pipeline
 Initiate and complete Tribal Consultation with all impacted Tribes, beginning with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
 Revoke the Nationwide Permit 12 which ignores the intent of state and federal environmental laws and to reinstate its prior practice of evaluating the environmental impacts of each pipeline through the completion of full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) reports.

Thank you.
Sincerely,
Executive Director California Indian Environmental Alliance
526 Grand Ave.
Oakland, CA 94610 Cc:

Mr. Denis McDonough The White House Chief of Staff to the President 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W. Washington, DC 20500 Governor Jack Dalrymple Office of Governor State of North Dakota 600 East Boulevard Avenue Bismarck, ND 58505-0100 Steve Sitting Bear Standing Rock Sioux Tribe PO Box D, Bldg #1, N. Standing Rock Ave Fort Yates ND, 58538

ciea-standing-rock-sioux-dapl-letter-9-7-2016-final-1