Restore the Delta

: Governor Newsom Vetoes Key Water Bills

Newsom’s final legislative session has ended with broken promises and sweeping vetoes of critical legislation.

In response to the veto of AB 2218, Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Vice Chair Malissa Tayaba responded directly to this decision, stating, “Newsom’s veto of AB 2218 is a backhanded betrayal of California Tribes and a direct contradiction of his apology and promises of reconciliation. For nearly 200 years, California has made decisions about our waters without us, disregarding the tribes whose cultures, communities and lifeways depend on them. Newsom had instead aligned with ‘special water interests that profit from extractive and exploitive water management.’”

Karuk Tribe Chairman Russell “Buster” Attebery also emphasized that Tribes “need to be at the table when decisions are being made.”

SB 1125: Water Rate Assistance Program was also met with a veto. Authored by Senator Caroline Menjivar, the bill would have established a statewide Low-Income Water Rate Assistance Program, helping ensure that families across California can access safe and affordable water.

🔗 Read more about each bill and the Governor’s vetoes: https://tinyurl.com/yjx3fpb4

🌊 What is the Bay-Delta Plan?

The Bay-Delta Plan is a critical state rulemaking meant to protect water quality, river flows, fish, and ecosystems throughout the Bay-Delta.

But the State Water Board’s recent update includes the deceptive Voluntary Agreements, also known as the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes program. These agreements would allow powerful water districts to make limited flow and funding commitments in exchange for exemptions from stronger, enforceable protections, while excluding Tribes and Delta communities.

🚨 Take Action and Oppose the Updated Bay-Delta Plan!

The State Water Board will soon vote on whether or not to adopt the final Bay-Delta Plan and Voluntary Agreements. This will be our last chance to oppose a plan that would devastate Tribes, environmental justice communities, and the Bay-Delta ecosystem.

🗣 Want to make a public comment? Join one of our upcoming comment trainings via the link in bio to learn how to prepare for the hearings and make your voice heard.

🔗 Click to register for our virtual comment training: https://tinyurl.com/bdh6ftvd
🔗 Click to register for our in-person comment training in Stockton, CA: https://forms.gle/uobQLkG37qgeRZEc7

We stand with Shingle Springs and are very disappointed that Governor Newsom has failed to restore tribal water rights by vetoing AB 2218.

Speak up for the Bay Delta 📣

You have the chance to tell the Water Board to adopt a Bay Delta Plan that will truly protect water quality for all!

Public Hearing: Sacramento & Online (Hybrid)
October 28 - 29

Public pressure successfully secured the Tribal Tradition and Culture (CUL) designation in recent drafts, a historic first under the Water Board’s 2017 Tribal Beneficial Use definitions.

At the last hearing, 153 people spoke out for strong water protections. Let’s build on this momentum, show community solidarity, and make our voices heard again this October!

Learn More: tinyurl.com/BayDeltaInfo

Read the Draft: tinyurl.com/BayDeltaDraft

ICYMI: Delta Science Program receives Outstanding Environmental Projects Award 🎉

Restore the Delta’s Delta Science Program recently received the Outstanding Environmental Projects Award on behalf of the Friends of the San Francisco Estuary Board.

What began in 2021 as a small operation monitoring for HABs has grown into our Climate Water Advocates internship, training the next generation to monitor water quality throughout the Delta.

Joined by staff and past and present interns, we are proud to continue prioritizing science-based water quality management for Delta communities, Tribes, and the entire estuary. 🌊

🔗 Read more: https://tinyurl.com/mt9wn3k2

🗣 Use Your Voice: Speak Out on the Bay-Delta Plan!

On August 20, the State Water Board released its final update to the Bay-Delta Plan, a critical rulemaking for ensuring: water quality, river flows and ecosystem protections for the state’s largest and most endangered estuary and watershed.

The Board is expected to vote on the plan and the proposed Voluntary Agreements at its upcoming October 28-29 hearings.

Learn how to use your voice by joining our upcoming public comment trainings to learn what to expect at the October 28-29 hearings, how to provide an effective public comment, and why the final plan matters for Delta communities, Tribes, and the Bay-Delta ecosystem.

💻 Virtual session: Hosted by Bay-Delta Flows Coalition and Save California Salmon
📅 Wednesday, October 21, from 7:00 - 8:00 PM
🔗 Register: https://tinyurl.com/bdh6ftvd

🗣 In-person session: Hosted by Restore the Delta and Little Manila Rising
📍Stockton Rising Hub, 27 South Grant Street, Stockton, CA 95202
📅 Tuesday, October 13, from 5:00 - 7:00 PM
🔗 Register: https://forms.gle/uobQLkG37qgeRZEc7

🌊 Speak out for the Delta and learn more via the links in bio!

🚨 BREAKING: Governor Newsom vetoes key water protection bill

Yesterday, Governor Newsom officially vetoed SB 872, a key water infrastructure bill that would have provided funding to address two major threats to California’s water supply: aging Delta levees and sinking State Water Project canals.

“Not only did Governor Newsom veto a much needed bill to bring Delta levees to the necessary standards to deal with climate change, he vetoed funding for fixing existing conveyance for the State Water Project. Why? His never-ending quest for the Delta Conveyance Project. It is his white whale. And he has set California water infrastructure on a course for complete failure as a result of his wrongful quest,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director at Restore the Delta.

In his veto message, the Governor called the legislation "unnecessary", while the state considers much more costly infrastructure like the Fair Ranch deal.

The veto leaves critical infrastructure needs unresolved and raises questions about California’s priorities for protecting its water system.

🔗 Read more about SB 872 and what the veto means: https://tinyurl.com/3876ujj7

🌊 5 things we wish everyone knew about the Bay-Delta

This Delta Week, we’re highlighting a few important facts about the Bay-Delta region.

1️⃣ The Delta is formed by the confluence of the state’s two largest rivers: the Sacramento, flowing south from its headwaters near Mount Shasta, and the San Joaquin, flowing north from its origins high in the southern Sierra Nevada.

2️⃣ The Delta consists of primary and secondary zones. If you live in parts of Solano, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Yolo, or Contra Costa counties, you may live within the Bay-Delta! (Delta Stewardship Council)

3️⃣ The Delta is home to more than 750 species of plants and animals, and 55 fish species, many of them threatened or endangered.

4️⃣ The Bay-Delta watershed is home to the ancestral lands and territories of numerous California Native tribes, such as the Sierra Miwok, Lassik, Konkow, Lake Miwok, Atsugewi, Wintu, Pomo, Achumawi, Yana, Patwin, Yokuts, Yuki, Nisenan, Wappo, Maidu, Modoc, Nomlaki, Washoe, Northern Paiute, and Shasta Tribes. (California State Water Resources Control Board)

5️⃣ The bay-delta provides a portion of the water used by two-thirds of all Californians, about 27 million people.

What's something you wish more people knew about our region?

This California Native American Day, we honor the first stewards of the Delta and California's waterways.

Guided by their lasting connection to land and water, we continue to stand alongside Tribes for equal water rights, tribal sovereignty, cultural preservation, and a healthy Bay-Delta estuary for all.