[env-trinity] AP Story- CALFED Bill passes Senate

[Tom Stokely]

September 16, 2004
CalFed passes Senate; $395 million for California water projects

Associated Press - 9/15/04
By Erica Werner, staff writer
WASHINGTON - The Senate passed the long-fought CalFed water bill Wednesday, authorizing $395 million to restore California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and ensure a reliable water supply for millions of farmers and residents.

The sweeping, six-year bill would enact the first major changes to California's water systems since the 1960s. Differences with a version passed by the House in July must still be resolved before the legislation can go to the president for his signature.

The bill authorizes feasibility studies for several major new storage projects, among them enlarging Los Vaqueros reservoir in Contra Costa County and raising the Shasta Dam.

It authorizes $90 million for ecosystem restoration programs and contains provisions to expedite approvals of 49 recycling projects. It requires a feasibility study for restoring the Salton Sea and includes an Environmental Water Account to ensure water for fisheries.

After a decade of dispute over the California Federal Bay-Delta Program among environmentalists, farmers, residential users and others, the passage was a victory some thought would never happen. The bill passed by unanimous consent with no debate.

"Passage of this legislation was a long time coming and it is the result of hard work to reach a bipartisan consensus involving a wide range of stakeholders," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D.-Calif. and the bill's lead author, said in a statement.

House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, also cheered passage of the legislation.

"House and Senate passage of CalFed has been sought for nearly a decade by all of us who have a vested interest in meeting California's water needs for the 21st century," he said in a statement.

Aides to both Pombo and Feinstein said they were optimistic about getting a final bill passed that can be signed by the president before the end of the year. But a hurdle still remains.

The bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday leaves out so-called pre-authorization language that would allow the secretary of the Interior to approve four specific water storage projects without congressional signoff. Congress would be given 120 days to say no but would not be asked to say yes. Feinstein had insisted the bill could not pass the Senate with that language.

But some Republican House members view the language as key in guaranteeing that the storage projects, which they view as central to a good water bill, will happen.

The four projects in question are the Los Vaqueros enlargement, the Shasta Dam raise, surface storage on the Upper San Joaquin and Sites Reservoir in the Antelope Valley. Under the Senate version of the bill, feasibility studies are authorized for those projects.

"Somebody's got to give," said Pombo spokesman Brian Kennedy.

Lawmakers will be under pressure to reach a compromise and get a final bill to the president. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration has been involved, and Schwarzenegger wrote a letter supporting CalFed and has raised the issue in private talks with lawmakers, said his resources secretary, Mike Chrisman. If the legislation stalls, the administration may get more involved, Chrisman said.

"It's very, very important," Chrisman said. "At this stage of the game, given where we are with CalFed, the federal government stepping up with these kinds of dollars is very important to us completing our commitment to all of the parties."

Water agencies and business groups applauded the passage of the bill through the Senate, but environmentalists complained it puts creating new water storage ahead of ecosystem restoration. Nearly two dozen environmental organizations sent a letter to Feinstein and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D.-Calif., this week criticizing the bill.#
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