Congressman Josh Harder is continuing to pressure the Army Corps to deny the federal permits required for the Delta Tunnel to be completed.

The Tracy Democrat was joined by members of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Congressional Delegation, in urging the Army Corps’ final Record of Decision to protect Delta waterways, families, and the regional economy by denying these permits.

Among the reasons environmental groups, Delta farmers, and San Joaquin along with other Delta counties oppose the project:

*First proposed more than 60 years ago, the Delta Tunnel costs have  ballooned growing to at least $20 billion in 2024 and potentially as high as $100 billion last year according to the latest analysis.

*That doesn’t even factor in the devastating damages that Delta communities would face as the State of California’s findings concluded it will cause $167 million in damages to Delta agriculture, air quality, and infrastructure and ongoing economic losses for the region.

*Even preliminary work on the Delta Tunnel would be extreme – massive trenches, boring holes up to 250 feet deep, and major installation projects would tear up dozens of sites across the Delta.

“This isn’t just some water heist to ship our Delta water down south to Beverly Hills lawns — this is an existential threat to our waterways, regional economy, and our very way of life,” Harder said.

 “And for all that devastation, it wouldn’t create a single new drop of water for anyone. That’s why we’ve been fighting tooth and nail to permanently stop the Delta Tunnel, and today I’m calling on the Army Corps to deny the permits needed for this boondoggle to ever be completed.”

Harder has been leading the charge in Washington to stop the Delta Tunnel devastation:

*He launched legislation to prohibit federal permits necessary for the project to be implemented.

*Last summer, Harder demanded a full audit of the project to ensure transparency for Delta communities that have been cut out of closed-door Sacramento decision-making.

*Harder has rallied Delta residents, local leaders, and agriculture communities in multiple town halls and a major demonstration at the State Capitol to press Sacramento to give in.

“The proposed Delta Conveyance Project would have a direct, negative impact on environmental justice communities, Delta farms, commercial and recreational fishing, and Delta ecosystems,” said Morgen Snyder, Director of Policy and Programs, Restore the Delta.

“The US Army Corps of Engineers relies heavily on DWR's incomplete EIR, which is currently subject to litigation, to demonstrate minimal impact to the project area, ignoring the cumulative impacts on an already impacted economy and sensitive ecosystem.”

“If the US Army Corps of Engineers moves forward with the record of decision and associated permitting, Delta communities and ecosystems are facing a decade or more of construction, reduced flows resulting in declining water quality, further degradation of a declining ecosystem, and increased negative impacts to the Delta's declining river economy.”

Potential fallout for San Joaquin County, which has the largest land mass within the Delta region, include:

*Extensive damage to the Delta ecological system.

*Negative impact on fish including the endangered Chinook salmon.

*Tens of thousands of acres of farmland, some of the richest agricultural ground in the world, could go out of production.

*Domestic water supplies would be impacted.

*Long-range issues with saltwater intrusion impacting water supplies the cities of Lathrop, Tracy, Manteca, and Stockton take from the underground aquifer that is impacting when fresh water levels above and below the surface in the Delta drop.

*The quality and sustainability of Delta recreational opportunities.

Harder in 2022 introduced an amendment to prohibit the Army Corps of Engineers from issuing a Clean Water Act permit for the California Delta Conveyance Project.

The argument is the tunnel would rob the Delta of the benefit of Sacramento River water that currently flows through it on the way to the pumps at the head of the California Aqueduct northwest of Tracy.

That would impact not just the quality of water but it would reduce the volume which in turn can raise water temperatures than can be fatal to fish as it robs water of dissolved oxygen. At the same time, less water in the Delta means salt water would push farther to the east toward Stockton, Lathrop, and Manteca.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com