Barry Dugan informed our readers about the current process being used by the state government to address issues surrounding the Delta. This is an issue that will impact virtually every Californian in some way – and local governments must be involved in this process.
The process and the outcome will have enormous impacts on the environment, farming in the Central Valley and water supplies for municipalities all over the state.
The governance structure is an important part of this issue: Who is in charge and what authority they have will be critical for long-term success.
Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force Chairman Phil Isenberg said, “We found that there are at least 200 government agencies that have some authority in or around the Delta. That illustrated the old saying about government; ‘Everyone is involved, but no one is in charge.’”
Isenberg statement is true; so at some point it may be proposed that local government just be pushed out of the way.
That would be a shame.
Local government entities will be expected to provide public safety resources, make land use planning decisions with an impact on the Delta and possibly be restricted from taking actions they desire.
So far in this process, no one has been lost.
The goals, objectives and recommendations have avoided the difficult resource allocation decisions, but that will come with time. Whatever the result, local government must have a seat in the governance structure.