This week, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) issued two notices related to the California WaterFix Project. The first is a combined notice of the August 25, 2015 water right change petition (and errata) filed by the California Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (and a public hearing on the petition). The second public notice is for a September 24, 2015 application for a Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification for the California WaterFix Project.
The first petition asks to add three points of diversion of water on the Sacramento River near Courtland to the water rights for the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project for the California WaterFix Project. Approval of the petition is needed for construction and operation of the project. At the public hearing the Board will receive information on whether and under what conditions to approve the petition.
The second public notice is for a September 24, 2015 application for a Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification for the California WaterFix Project. The State Water Board must consider whether and under what conditions the construction of the California WaterFix Project would comply with water quality standards. A certification that the project will comply with standards as conditioned is needed for the project to proceed.
While the two notices are separate issues, testimony and evidence gathered at the public hearing on the change petition will help inform the decision on the water quality certification.
Protests against the water right change petition and Notices of Intent to Appear at the hearing are both due on January 5, 2016. Parties do not need to submit a protest to participate in the hearing, but must submit a Notice of Intent to Appear by the due date to participate in the hearing. A pre-hearing conference for all parties to the hearing is scheduled for January 28, 2016. The first part of the public hearing is currently scheduled to start on April 7, 2016.
A decision on the water quality certification will not be made until after the final California Environmental Quality Act document is complete for the project, projected as sometime after May or June of 2016.