[env-trinity] Record Searchlight and Times Standard articles on Interior Settlement Proposal

[Tom Stokely]

http://www.times-standard.com/Stories/0,1413,127~2896~1995728,00.html

Feds float Trinity plan 
By John Driscoll The Times-Standard 

Hoopa Tribe, Westlands turn up noses 

The federal government has proposed a plan for the Trinity River that -- though already met with resistance from key players -- it says might end persistent litigation. 

The plan calls for a range of options during normal and dry years, and would create two reserved slugs of water available for fish at the discretion of water managers. The options could send less water down the river than a congressionally supported plan under suit, or more. 

In all but drought years, it would provide more water than what's available under a current order from a federal district court in Fresno. 

It is the second attempt to reach a settlement in recent months. Westlands Water District, a key beneficiary of Trinity water that has litigated over the restoration plan for the river, pitched its own settlement in October. 

That settlement was roundly rejected by the Hoopa Valley Tribe and the U.S. Interior Department. Now the Interior Department has come back with its own plan. 

"This is very likely to continue in endless litigation unless we can find a way to break the stalemate," said Bennett Raley, assistant interior secretary for water and science. 

Many believe the flows called for in the 2000 restoration plan are the bare minimum needed for salmon in the Trinity River, and the tribe and salmon advocates see it as a compromise. 

Both the Hoopa Valley Tribe -- an intervenor in the lawsuit -- and Westlands are highly skeptical of the new proposal, Raley said. 

"The fundamental thing wrong with it is it doesn't have any science to support it," said Hoopa Fisheries Program Director Mike Orcutt. 

He said the 70,000 total acre feet of so-called reserved water -- which would cost between $5 million and $7 million -- is an example of reactive management, not proactive management. The water is meant to be on hand in case another Klamath River fish kill, like the one in 2002, appears imminent. 

Relying on buying water with an uncertain federal budget isn't a good idea, Orcutt said. 

"It's going to rob someone," he said. 

The salmon fishery on the Trinity once boasted huge runs of fish, but the construction of the Trinity River project had serious impacts. As much as three-quarters of the Trinity's water from above Lewiston Dam is sent to the Sacramento River, where Central Valley farmers get water for irrigation. 

The 2000 authorization of the original long-studied restoration plan was signed by former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. Westlands promptly sued. 

When asked if providing a range of flows during normal and dry years might only lead to a yearly fight over water, Raley said, "There are no absolute assurances." 

Water managers would look back on each year to determine if the flows met the needs of fish in the river, and adjust the flows during the next year of the same type. 

Trinity County planner Tom Stokely, who has worked on the Trinity restoration effort for years, said on the surface there appears to be more water in the Interior plan than in Westlands' proposal. 

"There are a lot of unanswered questions about who would make the decisions and how much water there would actually be," Stokely said. 

He also said the emergency reserve water would be a moot point if Interior would just recognize Humboldt County's claim to 50,000 acre feet of Trinity water each year. 

http://www.redding.com/news/stories/20040304lo063.shtml

Trinity River plan angers tribe, farmers 

Each says they'll lose lifeline if water gets reapportioned yearly 




Alex Breitler
Record Searchlight



      
       
     
      File photo by Jonathan Kirshner 
      WATER WARS: A fisherman casts his line during a guided float trip on the Trinity River in October. It's a serene image, but behind the scenes the government, American Indians, irrigators and power users are fighting over the best use for the water. Wednesday the U.S. Department of Interior announced a new plan for regulating flows. 

      
     
     

March 04, 2004 - 6:22 a.m.
The federal government wants to change the way it regulates flows on the Trinity River, hoping to leave enough water for fish while diverting a fair share to farms in the state's interior. 

But a proposal - announced Wednesday by assistant Secretary of the Interior Bennett Raley - angers American Indians who depend on the Trinity River for sustenance and culture. 

And it doesn't exactly thrill irrigators, who could see even less water than they did before they sued to increase diversions. 

The plan relies on so-called "adaptive management," in which scientists would determine which flows are appropriate from a range based on the amount of precipitation in a given year. To this point, officials have relied on a model to make their decisions. 

The river has been the subject of a legal battle since 2000, when the Clinton administration agreed to send more water downstream. Irrigators and power users - who have received up to 90 percent of the river's water - sued. 

"We're mired in a cycle of litigation that could go on for a long, long time," Raley said during a conference call Wednesday. "The river is suffering. . . . We need to break this deadlock." 

The plan would also set aside an emergency fall reserve of up to 50,000 acre-feet of water, which could be sent downstream if fish are struggling. An additional 20,000 acre-feet water bank would be available as a "savings account" of sorts. An acre-foot is enough water to support a family of four for one year. 

The river would be evaluated annually, with scientists deciding what's best for flows. 

"We would have some expert biologists running the river, basically," said Steve Thompson, manager of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in California and Nevada. Thompson helped develop the plan. 

But the Hoopa tribe, which rejected a settlement from the Westlands Water District last year, didn't receive the plan favorably. The tribe said it favored farmers and was based on the rejected Westlands proposal. 

Hoopa officials stand steadfastly behind the 2000 Record of Decision, which was the culmination of 20 years of scientific study. 

"We're a little taken aback that they put this on the table," said Mike Orcutt, the tribe's fisheries director. 

The variability of river flows could pose a problem for irrigators, said Tupper Hull, spokesman for Westlands. The district serves 600 farms in the San Joaquin Valley. 

The proposal could, at times, send more water downstream than even the Record of Decision would have allowed. 

"There are concerns, obviously," Hull said, although he praised the government for taking steps toward a solution. 

Although initial reactions were negative, Bennett said he would ask the Justice Department to contact all the parties for another round of settlement discussions with Westlands and other litigants, including the city of Redding, which wants water for hydroelectric production. 

"Playing God" on the Trinity River has proven much harder than it looks, Bennett said. 

"But we're not giving up," he said. "We want out of this cycle of litigation." 

Reporter Alex Breitler can be reached at 225-8344 or at abreitler at redding.com. 





Thursday, March 4, 2004 
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