Already more than a decade in the planning, California’s proposal to build two massive tunnels stretching 35 miles beneath the Sacramento River delta has received an important green light from federal wildlife experts, says the Los Angeles Times. The water project “would change the way Northern California supplies are sent to the Southland.”
In final biological opinions, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service “conceded that project construction and operation would adversely affect imperiled species—but not to the point of jeopardizing their existence or destroying critical habitat. The agencies also said planned habitat restoration programs would offset the tunnel impacts,” said the newspaper.
The water project, with an estimated cost of $17 billion, calls for the construction of three new diversion points in the Sacramento River to feed water into the tunnels. “The question for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Westlands Water District, and others will be whether the tunnels stabilize their delta water deliveries enough to justify the cost,” said the Times. “If they decide it doesn’t and withdraw their support, the proposal will die.”
Growers in the delta oppose the project, which would divert irrigation water from their backyards. Environmentalists say the tunnels will drain the delta of water needed to sustain its ecosystem. The project still needs state and federal permits to proceed, and court challenges are possible.