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f The State Water Project's Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant Linda Fiack, executive director of the Delta Protection Commission, couldn't agree more. The Commis- sion, a state agency formed in 1992 to oversee matters of Delta preservation and enhancement, is undergoing its own strategic plan /visionary process, which is designed to determine whether the Commission becomes a more visible and perhaps forceful presence in the region. "We are the voice for those that live, work and play in the Delta," Flack said. "We kind of get overshadowed by CALFED and for the most part we haven't exercised all the power that's available to us." In addition to the Commission's discussions, other agencies such as councils of govern- ment and State Parks are including consideration of the Delta in larger assessment plans. Buttressing the array of planning activities is the understanding that the Delta encompasses more than the interests represented by CALFED stakeholders. "There are other things out there besides water conveyance and fish," Fiack said. "We spend a lot of time telling people we are not just about water." The Commission's top priorities are agriculture, habitat preservation, and recreation, which contributes significantly to the local economy. Of late, the Commission has been focusing much of its energy on how to deal with encroaching development in the Delta's secondary zone, the area beyond the 500,000 -acre primary zone over which it has jurisdiction. Commissioners are discussing the means by which the entity can play a greater role in local general planning efforts and whether something like a Delta -wide planning document is necessary, Fiack said. The version of the commission that emerges from the strategic planning process will likely be somewhere between what exists now and a regional planning agency such as those in Lake Tahoe and San Francisco Bay. The state's Delta Vision proposal is highlighted by a "blue ribbon" panel of policy and resource experts whose final recommendations would be forwarded to the secretaries of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency and the Resources Agency. This group of seven to nine governor - appointed policy and resource experts would be seen as "problem solvers" who can analyze the Delta's problems and come up with recommendations for the Legislature and governor to consider. Bobker, who serves on the BDPAC, said it is important that the blue ribbon commission be indepen- dent because state and federal agencies "are in fact stakeholders" in the Delta. "We need to have this be like the Challenger Commission or the 9/11 Commission," he said. "It's that serious." Rounding out the proposed structure are several policy and technical work groups and a Delta Science Panel of discipline experts, all of which would report to the blue ribbon panel. Of the many activities that are to fall under the Delta Vision Process umbrella, perhaps none is more important than the Delta Risk Man- agement Strategy (DRMS), a multi- year, multi - million dollar analysis of the region designed to a comprehen- sive view of the assets, existing problems with the system, the degree of risk that presently exists and the consequences of multiple levee failures. A final report is projected to be competed in January 2008. "The DRMS Project is a mecha- nism that will better define benefits and beneficiaries within and outside the Delta," according to DWR. "The results of DRMS will serve not only as a basis for a future Delta Vision, but also help guide levee upgrades for a multitude of benefits." Dave Mraz, DWR's program manager for Bay - Delta Levees, told BDPAC members that DRMS "will have recommenda- tions on things we can do [near term] and things that need more study, more work." He added that DRMS should integrate well within the overall scope WESTERN WATER