Five field hearings are planned this month so the public can comment on the draft Delta Plan, a document to guide the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region.
The Delta Plan runs to more than 2,000 pages and is required by legislation passed in 2009. It aims to unify government agency actions to better manage water, habitat and land use in the Delta.
The 740,000-acre Delta is the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas and a vital source of water for 25 million Californians. It also suffers ecological decline amid water diversion, pollution and invasive species.
The Delta Stewardship Council, created by the 2009 legislation, is charged with adopting the plan by July. The draft includes 12 key regulatory policies to manage statewide water demand, land development on the periphery of the Delta, and other issues.
The hearings in the Sacramento region are: Jan. 18 at Clarksburg Middle School, 52870 Netherlands Road in Clarksburg; and Jan. 19 at Willows City Council Chambers, 201 N. Lassen St. in Willows. Both begin at 6 p.m.
Written comments may be submitted until Feb. 2. For more information, go to www.deltacouncil.ca.gov/delta-plan-draft-eir or call (916) 445-5511.
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