HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Resolution 7742 (SF Bay Delta Estuary Protection)RESOLUTION NO. 7742
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SAN RAFAEL ENDORSING THE
SAN FRANCISCO BAY -DELTA ESTUARY
PROTECTIONS RESOLUTION
WHEREAS: The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has convened the Bay -
Delta Hearings, a three-year, three-phase proceeding designed to set new
water quality standards and water rights for the San Francisco Bay -
Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta Estuary; and
WHEREASs Over the next three years the SWRCB will review evidence and set water
quality standards for the Bay -Delta Estuary to protect such beneficial
uses as drinking water, agriculture, industry, recreation and fish and
wildlife; and
WHEREAS: These historic Bay -Delta hearings will have far-reaching implications for
the entire Bay -Delta region and the State of California; and
WHEREAS: The U.S. Congress recognized the San Francisco Bay as an estuary of
national significance and added it to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA) National Estuary Program; and
WHEREAS: Governor Deukmejian has designated the State of California to be a
partner with the EPA in the San Francisco Estuary Project, a five-year
effort to address the Bay's and Delta's most critical problems through a
Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan to restore the chemical,
physical and biological integrity of the Estuary; and
WHEREAS: The San Francisco Bay -Delta Estuary is the largest inland estuarine
system on the West Coast of North and South America, home to more than
100 species of fish an 800,000 waterfowl and shore birds and is a major
stop -over on the migratory Pacific Flyway; and
WHEREAS: The Delta provides drinking water to two-thirds of California's
population, representing 40 percent of all drinking water consumed
statewide; and
WHEREAS: The 12 -county Bay -Delta region is home to more than seven million
Californians and its economy is dependent upon the quality of the
environment and health of this important estuarine resource; and
WHEREAS: The Bay -Delta Estuary is under increasing stress due to increased
diversions and exports of freshwater out of the Delta to many parts of
the state, resulting in exports or diversions estimated at 60 percent of
the Bay's historic annual inflow and up to 85 percent of its springtime
freshwater inflow; and
WHEREAS: Diking and filling of nearly all the Bay -Delta Estuary's historic tidal
marshes; increased discharge of pollutants from point and non -point
sources; and increased waterway modification, including dredging, also
have affected the Bay -Delta Estuary; and
0RIGI��l A,I 7 z
WHEREAS: These practices, including diversions and exports, have caused adverse
impacts to the Bay -Delta Estuary such as: increased salinity of Delta
drinking water supplies; an 80 percent decline in the striped bass
population since the 1950s; decreases in salmon available for sport and
commercial fishing; reduction in the Bay's circulation capacity causing
longer residence time for pollutants in the Bay; and loss of critical
fish and wildlife habitat; and
WHEREAS: The SWRCB has an historic opportunity to address these adverse impacts
and protect the Estuary's vital public trust resources through the
Board's decision on water quality standards for the Bay -Delta Estuary;
and
WHEREAS: Each city, county and concerned citizen in the Bay -Delta region has a
unique opportunity to express support for improved protections for the
magnificent resource that is the San Francisco Bay -Delta Estuary; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That the City of SAN RAFAEL supports complete and
adequate water quality standards that protect all beneficial uses of the
San Francisco Bay -Delta Estuary; and be it further
RESOLVED: That the City of SAN RAFAEL urges the State Water
Resources Control Board to adopt water quality standards that assure the
protection of the Estuary before increased diversions or exports are
considered; and be it further
RESOLVED: That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the State Water
Resources Control Board and to appropriate state and federal legislators.
I, JEANNE M. LEONCINI, Clerk of the City of San Rafael,
California, hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was duly
and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the
Council of said City held on the 6th day of June, 1988, by the
following vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Boro, Breiner, Frugoli, Thayer & Mayor Mulryan
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
4/12/88
JEA . LEON4I,4t�City Clerk