Can California's Delta Plan Balance Infrastructure Investment with Environmental Protections?

Jerry Meral, Deputy Secretary of Resources in California, discusses balancing myriad stakeholders and goals in pushing for Governor Brown's controversial Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta plan.

1 minute read

September 6, 2012, 8:00 AM PDT

By Kevin Madden


Jerry Meral was recruited by California Governor Jerry Brown to head the California Department of Natural Resources' efforts to improve, update, and manage water infrastructure in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The Planning Report spoke with Deputy Secretary Meral about his role in the Bay Delta conservation planning process, the challenges associated with creating a plan for the Delta, and what the future of water in California will look like.

Meral holds that decades after the environmental battles over the Delta in the early 1980s, when he was Deputy Director of the Department of Water Resources, the stakeholders have changed, and opposition and support have grown more nuanced. No longer can one sweepingly characterize the positions of different environmental groups or farming advocates. Meral's work tests whether states can still unite stakeholders in efforts to make bold investments in infrastructure and natural space.

Thanks to Kevin Madden

Monday, September 3, 2012 in The Planning Report

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Red SF Muni ticketing machine.

San Francisco Muni Raises Fares a Second Time

A 10–cent fare hike for adults is part of the agency’s plan to chip away at a growing budget deficit.

May 21 - San Francisco Examiner

Electric car charging station with several Chevy Bolts charging in parking lot of store in Bellingham, Washington

Electric Grid Capacity Could Hamstring EV Growth

Industry leaders say the U.S. electric grid is unprepared for the increased demand for power created by electric cars, data centers, and electric homes.

May 21 - GovTech

Top view new development riverside residential and commercial neighborhood with vacant land in Texas, USA.

Texas Bill Supports Adaptive Reuse in Commercial Areas

Senate Bill 840, which was preliminarily approved by the state House, would allow residential construction in areas previously zoned for offices and commercial uses.

May 21 - The Texas Tribune