[env-trinity] (no subject)

Wed Apr 15 19:57:30 PDT 2009

Trinity and Klamath Funds are included in this Stimulus Package.  See red
underlined below.

Byron 

U.S. Department of the Interior
Office of the Secretary - U.S. Department of the Interior 
- www.doi.gov - News Release  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: April 15, 2009
Contact: Joan Moody
(202) 208-6416

Secretary Salazar Announces $260 Million in Economic Recovery Investments to
Help California Address Long-Term Water Supply Challenges and Devastating
Drought Conditions

Water-Related Economic Investments Total $1 Billion in the West

SACRAMENTO, CA  - Today, at a press conference with Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger and California congressional leaders, Secretary of the
Interior Ken Salazar announced the Department of the Interior will invest $1
billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) in
America's water infrastructure to create jobs and get the economy moving
again.  Overall, the Department of the Interior will manage $3 billion in
investments as part of the recovery plan signed by the President to
jumpstart our economy, create or save jobs, and put a down payment on
addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st
Century.

Of the $1 billion that Interior's Bureau of Reclamation is investing in
water projects across the country, $260 million will go to projects in
California that will expand water supplies, repair aging water
infrastructure, and mitigate the effects of a devastating drought the state
is currently experiencing.  An additional $135 million is available for
grants for water reuse and recycling projects; California is emerging as a
leader in the development of these projects and is expected to also
significantly benefit from this funding.

"In the midst of one of the deepest economic crises in our history,
Californians have been saddled with a drought that is putting tens of
thousands of people out of work and devastating entire communities," said
Secretary Salazar. "President Obama's economic recovery plan will not only
create jobs on basic water infrastructure projects, but it will help address
both the short- and long-term water supply challenges the Golden State is
facing. From boosting water supplies and improving conservation to improving
safety at our dams, these shovel-ready projects will make a real and
immediate difference in the lives of farmers, businesses, Native American
Tribes and communities across California."

Secretary Salazar, who earlier in the day toured the Sacramento Delta with
Governor Schwarzenegger, announced that more than 30 Bureau of Reclamation
water infrastructure projects will be funded in California under the ARRA,
including:

    * $40 million for immediate emergency drought relief in the West,
focused on California. These investments will allow for the installation of
groundwater wells to boost water supplies to agricultural and urban
contractors, the facilitation of the delivery of Federal water to
Reclamation contractors through water transfers and exchanges, and the
installation of rock barriers in the Sacramento Delta to meet water quality
standards during low flows;
    * $109.8 million to build a screened pumping plant at the Red Bluff
Diversion Dam to protect fish populations while delivering water to
agricultural users irrigating approximately 150,000 acres;
    * $22.3 million to address dam safety concerns at the Folsom Dam near
Sacramento, which is currently among the highest risk dams in the country
for public safety;
    * $8.5 million to repair water-related infrastructure at Folsom Dam;
    * $20 million for the Contra Costa Canal to protect water supplies for
500,000 Californians and to build fish screens to restore winter-run Chinook
salmon and the endangered Delta smelt;
    * $4.5 million to restore the Trinity River and honor the Federal
government's responsibility to the Native American Tribes;
    * $26 million for Battle Creek Salmon/Steelhead Restoration project,
which will help restore fisheries that support thousands of jobs in northern
California.
    * $4 million to the Bay Delta Conservation Plan for conveyance systems
to move Central Valley Project and State Water Project water, habitat
restoration and adaptive management;
    * $4 million to broaden scientific knowledge of Klamath River
sedimentation for future management decision-making;
    * $20.7 million in smaller water infrastructure and related projects
across California. 

With an array of projects identified by stakeholders as critical, the Bureau
of Reclamation worked through a rigorous merit-based process to identify
investments that met the criteria put forth in the Recovery Act:  namely,
that the project addresses the Department's highest priority mission needs;
generates the largest number of jobs in the shortest period of time; and
creates lasting value for the American public.
The $1 billion announced by Secretary Salazar today will go to programs
including:

    * Meeting Future Water Supply Needs (including Title XVI water recycling
projects and rural water projects)  - $450 million
    * Improving Infrastructure Reliability and Safety - $165 million
    * Environmental and Ecosystem Restoration - $235 million
    * Water Conservation Initiative (Challenge Grants) - $40 million
    * Green Buildings - $14 million
    * Delivering water from the Colorado River to users in central Utah
under the Central Utah Project Completion Act - $50 million
    * Emergency drought relief in the West, primarily in California - $40 

"President Obama and this Department have ambitious goals to build America's
new energy future, to protect and restore our treasured landscapes, to
create a 21st Century Youth Conservation Corps," added Salazar. "These
Bureau of Reclamation projects will help us fulfill these goals while
helping American families and their communities prosper again."

Secretary Salazar has pledged unprecedented levels of transparency and
accountability in the implementation of the Department of the Interior's
economic recovery projects. The public will be able to follow the progress
of each project on www.recovery.gov  and on www.interior.gov/recovery .
Secretary Salazar has appointed a Senior Advisor for Economic Recovery,
Chris Henderson , and an Interior Economic Recovery Task Force. Henderson
and the Task Force will work closely with the Department of the Interior's
Inspector General to ensure that the recovery program is meeting the high
standards for accountability, responsibility, and transparency that
President Obama has set.

Byron Leydecker, JcT

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 land

415 519 4810 cell

 <mailto:bwl3 at comcast.net> bwl3 at comcast.net

 <mailto:bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org> bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org
(secondary)

 <http://fotr.org/> http://www.fotr.org 

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