Federal government to probe state spending on delta tunnels

WASHINGTON — The Interior Department’s inspector general has opened an investigation into possible funding irregularities involving the proposed delta tunnels, a $15 billion plan to dig giant twin pipes to siphon water directly from the Sacramento River and send it underground to farms and cities in the southern part of the state.

The decision, made public Monday, came after a nonprofit called Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed a complaint alleging that federal money intended to go for fish and wildlife was spent instead on planning for the tunnels.

Paula Dinerstein, the group’s senior counsel, said the federal Bureau of Reclamation gave the California Department of Water Resources more than $60 million under the authority of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, to pay for environmental studies.

Water consultant Patricia Schifferle, a critic of the tunnels, agreed, adding that it is “illegal to use federal funds for a purpose that Congress didn’t authorize.”

The nonprofit group received a letter Friday from Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall saying her office had decided to conduct a review that will begin his month after studying the information.