ACWA Comments on EPA Plan to Investigate Delta Water Quality

Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) Executive Director Timothy Quinn issued the following statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's plan to conduct a review of Delta water quality problems under the Clean Water Act.

"EPA's announcement comes as water managers and others across the state are striving to address the Delta's serious challenges and achieve the co-equal goals of improving water supply reliability and ecosystem health.

"ACWA fully supports efforts to comprehensively address all factors affecting the Delta. To the extent that EPA's review under the Clean Water Act brings additional tools that we don't have today to address these water quality problems in a comprehensive way, this could be a positive development.

"But to the extent that it complicates our ability to reach agreement through processes such as the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), then it is something that could be a concern.

"A plan for significant habitat restoration, action to address pollution and other stressors and conveyance improvements is taking shape through the BDCP. It is incumbent on the federal government to coordinate any new EPA efforts with the BDCP process and make sure these actions are integrated in a way that promotes solutions, not puts them out of reach."