Bay Delta Conservation Plan

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is a planning and environmental permitting process to restore habitat for Delta fisheries in a way that reliably delivers water supplies to 25 million Californians. Federal and state agencies, environmental organizations, fishery agencies, water agencies, and other organizations are working together to develop the Plan.

Launched in 2006, the BDCP process is developing a comprehensive plan to obtain long-term operating permits under the state and federal Endangered Species Acts.

On July 25, 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown and U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar outlined revisions to the proposed BDCP plan that, along with a full range of alternative proposals, will undergo a rigorous public environmental review in the coming months.

Elements of the preferred proposal include construction of two side-by-side tunnels, water intake facilities with a total capacity of 9,000 cfs -- down from the earlier proposal of 15,000 cfs. Operation of the facilities would be phased in over several years.

On March 14, 2013, the California Natural Resources Agency released the first four of 12 draft chapters of the BDCP. The release of these first chapters is seen as a milestone in the seven-year effort to restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem and provide a reliable water supply for two-thirds of California's population.

• View Chapters 1-4, here
• Press Release - Brown Administration Releases Preliminary Bay Delta Conservation Plan - March 14, 2013
• BDCP Overview Fact Sheet
• Biological Goals and Objectives Fact Sheet
• BDCP: Restoring the Delta Ecosystem Fact Sheet
• BDCP Conservation Measure 1: Water Facilities and Operations Fact Sheet
• Q & A
• Background on BDCP Proposed Project and Operational Rules
• BDCP Document Release Schedule
• BDCP Video
• Video Recording of March 14, 2013 Press Conference (coming 3/15/13)

Materials from the July 25 announcement also are available on the BDCP website, including:

• Press Release
• California's Water Future Framework Brochure
• Joint Announcement Q&A
• July 16, 2012 Joint Recommendations Working Draft
• Current Conditions for Fish Compared to the BDCP - Fact Sheet
• Audio Recording of Joint Announcement
• Announcement Audio Recording
• Announcement Video - Short (34.6MB)
• Announcement Video - Long (190 MB)

Recent letters on the BDCP:

• Laird Responds to Legislators’ Requests to Study BDCP Alternative (April 12, 2013)

• Letters from Business-Labor Coalition, Water Agencies in Response to Conceptual Alternative to BDCP (Jan. 31, 2013)
• Environmental Coalition Calls for Portfolio-Based Alternative to Be Analyzed in BDCP (Jan. 16, 2013)
 
• Letter from Natural Resources Secretary John Laird to members of California's congressional delegation (July 20, 2012)
• Letter from Natural Resources Secretary John Laird to San Joaquin County (July 10, 2012)
• Letter from U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer (July 9, 2012)
• Letter from U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano (July 9, 2012)
• Letter from the NAACP California Chapter and the California Latino Water Coalition (July 9, 2012)
• Letter from statewide business coalition (R.E.A.L. Coalition) (July 3, 2012)
• Letter from 12 Northern California members of Congress (June 22, 2012)  

Other background on the BDCP:

• Read a fact sheet about the BDCP and its importance to the Bay Area (July 2012)
• Read ACWA's briefing book on the BDCP, "Delta's Moment for Decisions"
• Visit the BDCP website
• Read the Natural Resources Agency's BDCP Highlights Document (December 2010)
• Read the Interim Federal Action Plan Status update (December 2010)