Spreck Rosekrans is an Economic Analyst at EDF.

Even if you do not like all of the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force’s recommendations (and we don’t), you gotta appreciate their style. They tell it like it is, or at least how they think it should be.

The Task Force apparently does not want to write a report that sits on a shelf gathering dust. It was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger 18 months ago, with assurances of protection from political meddling, to develop a long term plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the statewide water supply system that depends on it. It is due to expire soon – after completing a strategic plan that is eerily due to be completed on Halloween. This summer, we have now seen the third of four drafts of that strategic plan and are struck by the plethora of very direct and clear recommendations that the Task Force makes for the legislature and a number of State agencies (as well as some federal and local agencies).

Perhaps the core Task Force recommendation is the one stating “By May 2009, the California Legislature should create a California Delta Ecosystem and Water (CDEW) Council to govern the co-equal values of healthy estuarine ecosystem function and a reliable water supply, and to approve policies for enhancing the Delta as a place.” In all we count 18 places where the Task Force recommends the legislature to take specific action, ranging from one that would create a Delta Conservancy to one that would divide California’s Department of Water Resources into two agencies – one agency that would operate the State Water Project and another with a broader, and presumably unconflicted, role of water management and planning for all uses, including environmental, throughout the State.

On the substance side, there is much to like for people who care about protecting and restoring California's rivers and the Delta while ensuring that reliable water supplies are provided to our cities and farms. In our comments on the third draft, we address some of the things that the Delta Vision has not adequately addressed to date, such as who should pay to implement the recommendations and how to improve the operation of our water projects while protecting fisheries. We (along with The Bay Institute) also point out that our existing legal system does not guarantee that flows acquired for the environment can be protected from diversion for other uses, and ask the Task Force to recommend legislation that would establish an environmental water right to ensure otherwise.

We look forward to commenting on one more version of the draft then reading the final report. After the Blue Ribbon Task Force turns into a pumpkin, we expect to work with the legislature, agencies and stakeholders on the long list of recommendations they have made. We hope that list includes more treats than tricks.