dcabarle
Administrator
The following is the response to my letter to TU. I'll post my letter later on tonight and append it to THIS MESSAGE. I have to get it off my other computer.
Mr. Cabarle,
I received your comments sent through the TU website, I apologize for the delay, website emails don’t get forwarded straight to me they get routed through the website company. It is always a good to hear from TU members who are taking an active role in protecting the Delaware. I wanted to begin by letting you know that the NY State Council of Trout Unlimited has recently authorized a committee, the Delaware River Watershed committee, to be the lead contact point on Delaware flows issues. It is the NY Council's intent to let this committee coordinate its advocacy efforts over the next three years that the current flow resolution is in effect, including a concentrated push to keep the membership better informed on the progress and events surrounding Delaware flows.
As you stated in your email, the conditions on the Delaware are a cause of concern and for the month of June have been less than ideal. This is a long standing problem which highlights the inflexibility of the Supreme Court mandated flow target at Montague, New Jersey. In years such as this one, higher than average precipitation in the month of May keeps the natural flow of the river from dropping to the point where the River Master needs to call for directed releases from New York City reservoirs to meet the Montague flow target. Hydrological conditions in the basin keep the Montague gage within its target range, resulting in no directed releases and lower flows in the West Branch. Directed releases by the River Master are the main reason flows on the West Branch average so much higher than other tailwater rivers in the system. Again, this situation is nothing new, and has historically been a problem when we see this year’s combination of weather factors. Flows in the Delaware basin have now finally dropped enough to trigger River Master releases.
TU is currently involved in both long-term and short term efforts to address this and other problems that typically arise on the Upper Delaware because of this inflexible flow regime. When River Master releases are not needed, it is vital to have access to a bank of water specifically allotted for conservation purposes. This “habitat bank” provides the water needed to help the fish through these critical stress periods. Our efforts have been instrumental in getting this habitat bank increased to its current allotment of 20,000 cfs/days, a 5,000 cfs/day increase over last year’s flow regime, and approximately double the historic allotment. The short term problem is that New York DEC does not always use this bank as aggressively as they should, and this year we have been pushing them to release more water from that bank until Montague releases kick in. The longer term problem relates to the inflexibility of the Montague target, and we are currently fully engaged in an ongoing effort to completely revise the flow management regime. All of the Delaware basin states have agreed to this process, which is being run by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC).
As you are aware, the new interim flow regime was approved by the DRBC this spring, and will govern conservation flows for the next three years, while a longer-term solution is being negotiated. Although we commented on the proposal, TU was not directly involved in the negotiations between the Supreme Court decree parties. The interim flow agreement represents a slight change from the program that has been in effect over the past several years, and we took the position that the proposal amounted to a slight improvement in the flow management regime. The proposal increased the habitat bank by between 5,000 and 8,000 cfs/days, depending on conditions, provided for higher minimum flows on the East Branch and Neversink, and provided for better flows during drought declarations As I said above, this June’s flow problems are not a result of the new flow agreement, but rather of the inflexibility of the Montague target and DEC’s conservative use of the habitat bank.
The course we chose during the comment period was to praise parts of the interim proposal and to propose changes in others. Some of the changes we proposed were adopted in the final decision of the DRBC. We chose this course for a number of reasons, including our view that there was simply not a better deal for the rivers that had any chance of being adopted at the time. Put another way, for the next three years the choice was not between the interim flow proposal and something else, but between the interim flow proposal and even less water for the river. The current flow resolution is not what we would like to see as the long term solution, but the parties were simply not going to make changes to the Supreme Court decree and the Delaware River Compact at this time. Indeed, some of the downstream states almost killed the current proposal because they thought it set aside too much storage capacity for conservation flows.
We are working very hard in the DRBC to push the longer-term process forward. All four states and New York City have agreed to study and renegotiate the flow regime, putting everything on the table. We have been successful in getting state of the art studies funded by the federal government to provide hard data about relationships between flows and habitat and flows and temperature. We also have put a lot of work into develop clear mechanisms, primarily the DRBC’s OASIS flow model, for determining exactly how different potential solutions will affect water users. We are convinced that neither New York City nor the downstream states will agree to any changes without hard data about the benefits to the river and the costs to them.
Many have expressed frustration with how long the DRBC process will take (at least three years, probably). Because the current flow regime is being implemented through a Supreme Court mandate, and because water users (both the City and downstream states) are so cautious about compromising their water supplies, TU is convinced that the DRBC process is simply the best, maybe even the only, hope for significant changes to the flow regime.
Progress on the issue of Delaware flows has been very slow, but, despite the flow problems this June, we are optimistic that things are moving in the right direction. Although it will take at least three years to bring the current process to resolution, it has taken us more than thirty years to get to a point where New York City and the down basin states are at the table, willing to put in the work needed to negotiate major changes to the flow regime.
Over the next three years TU is going to work hard to fight for better flows. There are several key principles that will guide our actions. We will work to get the fishery more water. We will also work to ensure that the new flow regime benefits the health of entire watershed, including the West Branch, East Branch, Neversink, and Mainstem. Finally, we will make sure that the studies and negotiations explore all possible solutions to the flows problems that the best science dictates will help. Our focus for the next three years is to actively advocate for the things we know the rivers need, as well as be aggressive in making sure the water allocated for thermal and habitat needs is managed properly.
In closing, if there is one thing that I can impress upon you, Trout Unlimited is absolutely dedicated to protecting the health of the fishery. We would not take a position that would knowingly place the fishery at risk. And please take a moment to consider all the other major issues at stake in the Catskills that TU is involved on: proposed mega developments on the Esopus, casinos on the Neversink, sediment pollution coming out of the Schoharie Reservoir, conversion of RT. 17 to a federal interstate, and the countless grassroots projects that focus on improving the health of local streams and rivers. Your continued support goes a long way towards insuring that the whole Catskills Watershed has a voice looking out for its fisheries interests. Take care.
Rocci Aguirre
Catskill Coordinator
Trout Unlimited
