[env-trinity] San Joaquin River Restoration Costs

[Byron]

This also has implications potentially for legislation that might be
introduced to provide a new funding authorization with increased funding for
the Trinity River Restoration Program.


 


Byron


 


$500 million price put on river repair bill; The estimate delays action by
Congress on plan to restore the San Joaquin and reintroduce salmon


Sacramento Bee - 4/20/07


By Michael Doyle, staff writer


 

WASHINGTON -- Legislation to restore the San Joaquin River has a $500
million federal price tag, raising fresh problems for a delicate political
compromise whose future remains in question.

 

The newly estimated river restoration cost exceeds earlier predictions. It
could force antsy lawmakers to raise taxes or cut other projects. Already,
it is delaying congressional plans for fixing the San Joaquin.

 

In other words, the new price tag poses a big headache for San Joaquin River
bill supporters. For skeptics, it's an opportunity. 

 

For farmers, it's a reminder that if political compromise fails, a federal
judge still could take charge of the river's future. 

 

"I think the costs are a lot higher than have been advertised, and that's a
considerable problem for the bill," Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, said
Thursday.

 

Alone among San Joaquin Valley lawmakers, Nunes publicly opposes the San
Joaquin River restoration bill. He is seizing on the new Congressional
Budget Office assessment as ammunition in his fight.

 

Introduced by Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, the San Joaquin River bill
would help restore water and salmon to a channel depleted of both decades
ago. The money would fund improvements so more water could spill over Friant
Dam, with salmon due to be introduced into the revived river before 2013.

 

Congress requires budget office estimates for all bills. The long-awaited
study predicts the San Joaquin River restoration bill would cost the federal
government about $430 million over 10 years, and $500 million by the year
2026.

 

"I don't think the CBO score will prevent this bill from being passed,"
Radanovich's press secretary, Spencer Pederson, said Thursday. "It's
something they're going to have to work through."

 

Still, the estimates do clarify the hurdles still remaining.

 

In particular, House Democrats now require that new spending be balanced by
additional revenues or new savings. The San Joaquin River bill is one of the
first natural resources bills to confront the new pay-as-you-go budget
requirements. Although the entire $500 million may not have to be offset, it
can be hard to find programs to eliminate.

 

"Good luck," Nunes said. "Who are they going to cut?"

 

The legislation would help settle a lawsuit filed in 1988.

 

Environmentalists charged in the suit that Friant Dam's construction and
operation had dried up the once-thriving San Joaquin River. Facing a
potentially strict judge's decision, Friant-area water districts on the San
Joaquin Valley's east side agreed to settle.

 

Currently, Friant Dam releases an average of 117,000 acre-feet of water
annually, with farmers getting most of it. The river restoration plan calls
for between 247,000 and 555,000 acre-feet of water to be released annually,
depending on how much water is available.

 

"(It) strives to bring life to a dormant river, while securing reliable
water for fertile Valley farmlands which depend on the river," Radanovich
said at a hearing last month.

 

Nunes fears the settlement will drive farmers out of business.

 

Originally, Friant-area water districts and environmentalists had hoped to
get the legislation passed by last Dec. 31. They made little progress.
Theoretically, either party can now back out of the settlement -- and throw
future river decisions to the federal judge.

 

Radanovich and his San Joaquin Valley allies reintroduced the river bill
this year. Thursday was supposed to be the day for a House subcommittee to
mark up the legislation and approve it. Anticipating progress, Friant Water
Users Authority attorney Dan Dooley flew out from California.

 

But the new budget questions thwarted those plans, forcing last-minute
cancellation of the scheduled mark-up. Instead, Dooley and his allies spent
part of this week trying to adapt new tactics.

 

The cost estimate includes $215 million construction projects authorized in
the bill over the next 10 years; for instance, levees needed to stop
flooding. This was essentially expected based on the bill's explicit
language.

 

The cost estimate also includes upward of $217 million, covering additional
spending that will be funded by fees paid by Friant farmers. Some bill
proponents don't think this should be counted as a cost, since the money is
already being provided.

 

The budget office also notes the San Joaquin River work will cost the
federal government some lost tax revenues, as a result of California issuing
tax-exempt bonds to pay for river work.

 

 

Byron Leydecker

Friends of Trinity River, Chair

California Trout, Inc., Advisor

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810

415 383 9562 fax

bwl3 at comcast.net

bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary)

http://www.fotr.org

http://www.caltrout.org

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www2.dcn.org/pipermail/env-trinity/attachments/20070420/bf87e7d7/attachment.html>