Talking Points

• The VA process is the opposite of the Racial Equity Plan- Stop contradicting the recently created Racial Equity Action Plan by supporting these terrible plans that will negatively affect countless tribal communities and communities of color.

• Tribal Uses are Not Protected - The lack of tribal consultation, and incorporation of traditional tribal knowledge, and protection of Tribal Beneficial Uses into the Scientific Research Report for the VAs is another example of the report’s incomplete status.

• Fish Need Water- With rising temperatures due to climate change, flows are more important than ever for regulating river temperatures for the health of fisheries . The failure to assess the effects of water temperature on spawning habitat in the report is just another example of how incomplete scientific analysis fails to address the concerns of tribes and environmental justice communities for restored fisheries.

• Science is Not Supported- The VA Scientific Report claims that habitat restoration without flows will benefit native fish in the Bay-Delta and habitat alone can support food web. These claims are not supported by the existing scientific literature. Throughout the report, the analysis points that were developed fail to use the best available science.

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• Toxic Algae Impacts Not Addressed- The failure to complete a full scientific analysis on how flows impact the formation of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in the Delta is a political decision that erases the concerns, safety, and health of Delta environmental justice communities.

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• THE VAs Benefits Only Older Water Rights Holders Not Environment and Downstream Users- The VA report privileges the desired outcomes of senior water right holders upstream and water exporters over those whose lives are tied to a healthy estuary.

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• The VA Plan Will Harm Fish and Fish Dependent Communities- Incomplete and poor science as the basis for Delta management will lead to the further creation of disparate impacts for Delta environmental justice and Tribal communities because fish numbers will continue to plummet. This means depleted fisheries for sustenance and tribal fishing communities.

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• The VAs Do Not Protect Beneficial Uses- Failure to provide a scientific assessment of the VA’s that examines impacts to beneficial uses for tribal and environmental justice communities, to favor water diverters, contradicts the board’s priorities in its own equity statement.

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• Powerful Landowners Were the Only Non-Federal Interest Involved- Tribal and environmental justice communities were excluded from the creation of the proposed VAs.