[env-trinity] History in the Making?

[Byron]

San Joaquin restoration starts at $600 million

Sacramento Bee - 7/21/06

By Michael Doyle, staff writer

 

WASHINGTON -- A plan to restore the San Joaquin River will cost at least
$600 million and possibly much more, prompting sticker shock among some of
the lawmakers who must find the money. 

 

In a private Capitol Hill briefing Thursday, members of Congress started
learning about what could become one of the nation's most ambitious
environmental endeavors. It would end an 18-year-old lawsuit and return life
to a river channel stripped bare long ago. It could also force California to
cash in lots of political chits. 

 

"If all goes well," Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, said Thursday, "I'd
like to get it done this year." 

 

The actual river restoration downstream from Friant Dam could be a
lifetime's work. But to get it started, Congress soon will be asked to
approve legislation authorizing myriad river-related projects. The pending
legislation could be tricky to pull together, but it's an integral part of
the lawsuit settlement now coming into focus. 

 

Between $600 million and $700 million will be needed for the river
restoration, lawmakers learned Thursday. Even those estimates may be low,
and some outside analysts believe the real costs could reach $1.2 billion. 

 

The money will pay for levees, streambed improvements and other work along
the state's second-longest river. Ever since construction of Friant Dam in
the 1940s, the San Joaquin has all but dried up in portions of western
Fresno and Merced counties. 

 

"Clearly, there is potential for some environmental work that is very
positive," said Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced. "My concern is, how do we pay
for this?" 

 

Cardoza further cautioned that not everyone in Congress is eager to divert
more money to California. Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said he likewise has
"some concerns" about funding and other issues, while he considers the
overall proposal "promising." 

 

State bond money will fund at least some of the work, as will local farmers
served by Friant Dam. The federal government, whose Bureau of Reclamation
built Friant Dam, also will pay a lot. 

 

The congressional briefing Thursday did not pinpoint the federal
government's exact share. The deal will include releasing roughly 200,000
acre-feet of water annually into the river channel. 

 

"The agreement is set to run like nature runs," Radanovich said. "Sometimes
there will be more water than in other years." 

 

Starting late last year, Radanovich and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.,
leaned on irrigators and environmentalists to settle the long-running
lawsuit over the river's future. Without a privately negotiated resolution,
the lawmakers warned, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton in Sacramento
would impose his own settlement. 

 

In August 2004, Karlton ruled that the federal government's operation of
Friant Dam violated state and federal laws protecting fisheries. 

More than 95 percent of the river's flow is now diverted for irrigation
water, relied upon by about 15,000 farmers on the San Joaquin Valley's east
side. 

"This judge and these environmental extremists are in collusion together,"
fumed Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare. "In the end, my farmers get stiffed." 

 

Nunes said he thought it was "outrageous" that a lawsuit settlement might
essentially compel Congress to pass legislation -- written by others --
authorizing the various San Joaquin River fixes. 

 

Other lawmakers likewise question precisely how this might work. 

 

"The negotiators for the parties and the state of California have agreed on
the text of proposed legislation that they are prepared to recommend for
approval," attorneys advised Karlton on June 30. 

 

Members of Congress have yet to see this legislative language. For now,
designated "third parties" who were not part of the lawsuit but who have a
stake in its outcome -- like the Modesto and Merced irrigation districts --
are studying the detailed settlement at several sites in California. 

 

A formal settlement is possible in mid-August. 

 

Attorneys Dan Dooley, representing farmers, and Hal Candee, representing the
Natural Resources Defense Council, led the briefing by phone while officials
from the Justice and Interior departments attended in person.

 

 

Byron Leydecker

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

Advisor, California Trout, Inc

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 ph

415 383 9562 fx

bwl3 at comcast.net

bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org

http://www.fotr.org

http:www.caltrout.org 

 

 

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