Graphic that reads "Public Comments Wanted."

Draft Tribal and Environmental Justice Issue Paper

The Delta Stewardship Council has released the public review draft of its Tribal and Environmental Justice issue paper: Tribal and Environmental Justice Issues in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: History and Current Perspectives. The draft presents the Council's understanding of tribal and environmental justice issues in and around the Delta and recommends actions to better address those issues within the scope of the Council's mission, authority, and influence.

The 60-day public comment period opens today, September 3, 2024.

A public discussion will be held during the Council's September 26, 2024, meeting in Stockton, CA. Ideas generated during the September 26 discussion and comments emailed to environmentaljustice@deltacouncil.ca.gov or mailed to the following address by November 4, 2024, at 5:00 PM, will be considered for the final issue paper.

Delta Stewardship Council

ATTN: Amanda Bohl

715 P Street, 15-300

Sacramento, CA 95814

More details, including information sheets, are available on the Council's environmental justice web page.

Please note that tribal consultation requests will be mailed and emailed to tribes. If a tribe is interested in initiating consultation with the Council on the draft, they are encouraged to email the Council's Tribal Liaison at tribal.liaison@deltacouncil.ca.gov.

Lea el resumen ejecutivo y la hoja informativa del proyecto en español.

READ THE DRAFT PAPER

How did we get here?

A summary of environmental justice interviews

22 interviews with representatives of environmental justice organizations in the Delta were integral to the development of the issue paper. Council staff has compiled a summary report that includes detailed information about the interview methods and approach and issue-specific results.

A graphic describing Environmental Justice with the following text: "Environmental Justice: Representation (Impacted communities are represented in the decision-making process), Process (planning processes and decision-making are fair, transparent, accessible, and provide opportunities for impacted communities to participate), Distribtuion (Environmental benefits and impacts are distributed equitably and/or mitigated so that no one community bears a disproportionate burden)."

Did you know?

The Council’s 2019 Five-Year Review identified environmental justice as a priority issue in the Delta and recommended that an issue paper be developed to investigate strategies and responses to address environmental justice within the Delta Plan, summarize the best available science, and identify future policy options for Council consideration. Since efforts began in February 2021, the paper has evolved to also consider tribal justice.

2024 Delta Stewardship Council Members, from left to right: Back: Ben Hueso, Vice Chair Gayle Miller, Judge Frank C. Damrell, Daniel Zingale. Front: Diane Burgis, Chair Julie Lee, Maria Mehranian

About the Council

The Council works to advance California’s coequal goals for the Delta – a more reliable statewide water supply and a resilient Delta ecosystem – in a manner that protects and enhances the unique characteristics of the Delta as an evolving place where people live, work, and recreate.

We carry out this mission by implementing the Delta Plan, an enforceable long-term sustainable management plan, to ensure coordinated action in the region at the federal, state, and local levels.