***Thank you all to everyone who took the time to write public comments against the proposed project and advocating for the current value of Del Puerto Canyon. Public comments for the federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) are now closed. This petition is specifically for EIS public comments and is also closed.***

The draft federal Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Del Puerto Canyon Dam and Reservoir is open for public comments from now until January 12th, 2026 and we need you to let the Bureau of Reclamation know why they should not allow a dam to be built above Patterson on the historic Gateway Rocks of Del Puerto Canyon!

Source documents: https://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_project_details.php?Project_ID=43324.

Over the course of this project, many environmental, safety, and other community concerns have been raised but not adequately addressed. We have created this petition to allow people to sign and compose comments related to these issues. They include:

- The continued lack of outreach to and opportunities for meaningful public input from underrepresented members of the Patterson community by the project backers. This includes the planning phase for the rerouted roadway where Del Puerto Water District sought input from rural landowners and residents of the small Diablo Grande country club east of I-5 on transportation and access impacts, but notably skipped the 25,000+ residents of the adjacent city of Patterson.

- The potential loss of valued educational and recreational roadside areas in Del Puerto Canyon as a result of the destruction of those sites by the reservoir and associated public road relocation. This includes multiple Yokuts archaeological sites, like one they acknowledge may have been eligible for state historical listing and protections had it not been in the way of their project. It also includes the site where a local teenager found the first dinosaur fossils identified from CA. Instead of listening to local geologists and schoolteachers about the site's importance, district officials attempted to find their own evidence to discredit the value and historical significance of that event and its documented location in the canyon.

- Impacts to sensitive species and riparian habitats. According to Save Mt. Diablo, Del Puerto Canyon is one of the top 5 most biodiverse areas in the Diablo Range. The reservoir and road relocation would physically destroy 800+ acres of habitat known to support species like the endangered Kit Fox. Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles, protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty, are also both known to frequent the area. After the publication of the dEIR that large sections of this document are copy-and-pasted from, endangered California Condors were also sighted near the proposed project area. Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir would also disrupt the naturally-occurring wet and dry periods many other native plants and animals are adapted to and make it easier for invasive weeds and other species to push them out. Concerns over potential impacts to native fish were brought up during the lawsuit over the initial state Environmental Impact Report. Questions over downstream impacts to land-based wildlife held up the release of the dEIR, which is still in its public comment period.

- The proximity of the main and saddle dams to the San Joaquin Fault and the failure to adequately address recent seismic activity that occurred after the initial dEIR that large sections of this EIS is copy-and-pasted from. There are also several active, slow-moving landslides within the project area. While proponents of modern dams state that floods from overtopping and dam break risks are low, they are not non-existent. A stated rationale for this reservoir is to provide flood protection, but flood risks specifically from a dam failure scenario are currently zero and would be increased if this 260 foot high structure is built.

- Interfering with plans for a pre-existing recreation area planned by the adjacent city of Patterson. Members of the Patterson Parks and Recreation Commission had drafted plans for a park that would include the culturally important Gateway Rocks and for amenities like horseback riding trails and an amphitheater that would extend further west of that. This park would also rely on access points connected to the current Del Puerto Canyon Road. If Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir goes forward, this area would instead be used for the main dam, spillways, and an off-stream diesel pumping station that may also affect the surrounding air quality. The current county roadway the park plans rely on for access would also be realigned.

- Questions regarding the actual storage capacity of and proposed operation of this reservoir. This project has a relatively small maximum potential storage capacity of 82,000 acre feet. Of that, some descriptions of its intended operation say it would only be filled to 60% capacity. Some have pointed out that there may additionally be a roughly 20,000 acre foot dead space below the draw of the reservoir. This would produce a project with only a little over 40,000 acre foot storage capacity for a current budgetary cost of $1.2 billion. It is also not designed to provide potable water and would not provide direct benefits to most Patterson residential users sitting below the main dam. Other water users like Friant have raised questions about overdraw from the Delta Mendota Canal affecting their supplies during dry periods. From recent Williamson Act contract records, some public water district officials directly involved in this project seem to have bought land for their commercial orchard operations near areas that might receive water from it.

Save Del Puerto Canyon is a grassroots organization fiscally sponsored by The Green Incubator who is a 501c3 organization. SDPC has regularly had the support of the Sierra Club Yokuts group, the California Native Plant Society, Friends of the River, Save Mount Diablo, The Rose Foundation, and thousands of community members including you... and we thank you.

Taking part in this action network campaign by the January 12 deadline will send the requested correspondence to:

Allison Jacobson

Bureau of Reclamation

2800 Cottage Way

Sacramento, CA 95825

Email: DelPuertoDEIS@usbr.gov

Reclamation will accept comments on the draft environmental impact statement through Jan. 12, 2026. Comments may be submitted by email at DelPuertoDEIS@usbr.gov or by mail (postmarked by Jan. 12).

Even a short message referencing the draft FEIS that says:

The Bureau of Reclamation should follow the No Action Alternative listed in the Executive Summary chapter 4.1, Alternative 1 (No Action) from the draft Del Puerto Canyon FEIS. Alternative 1 is the No Action Alternative, under which a new reservoir would not be constructed. Strong reasoning includes the project partners' inability to prove that this could be a feasible project that utilizes the taxpayers money responsibly. The California Water Commission has repeatedly not shown their support for this project and have cited the lack of overall feasibility showing the benefits fail to outweigh the overall costs.
Thank you,