[env-trinity] Fresno Bee- Water divides Central Valley lawmakers

[Tom Stokely]

http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/09/02/2523213/water-divides-central-valley-lawmakers.html
Water divides Central Valley lawmakers
Bill splits Sacramento, San Joaquin valleys.
Posted at 11:49 PM on Friday, Sep. 02, 2011
By Michael Doyle / Bee Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- The year's boldest California water bill picked one fight but found another.

Naturally, legislation stopping San Joaquin River restoration pits farmers against environmentalists. The more surprising conflict, and the one that so far has stymied lawmakers, pits the Sacramento Valley against the San Joaquin Valley, farmer against farmer and Republican against Republican.

"What's happening," said Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, "is the early stages of a new water war."

Behind the scenes, Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley negotiators have struggled all summer to resolve their differences. There's no truce yet, even as Congress returns to work on Tuesday.

"When you start doing a big water bill like this, it's complex," said Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia. "There are a lot of moving parts, and it's a work in progress."

Joined by Republican Reps. Jeff Denham of Atwater and Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, Nunes in May introduced the bill he dubbed the "San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act." In myriad ways, the 38-page bill sought to ensure more water deliveries to farmers south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The bill repeals an ambitious program, approved by Congress in 2009, to restore water and salmon to the San Joaquin River below Friant Dam. It returns federal irrigation contracts to 40 years instead of 25, and guarantees their renewal. It pre-empts strict state environmental laws.

The bill also presents a test for Republican Rep. Tom McClintock of Elk Grove. McClintock formerly represented a Southern California state Senate district. Now, representing northeastern California, he serves a different water basin even as he shoulders statewide responsibilities as chairman of the House water and power subcommittee.

McClintock praised the bill at its initial June 2 hearing, but then joined Rep. Wally Herger, R-Chico, in raising concerns about the potential impact on Northern California water rights.

Nunes now says his "hope" is that the California water negotiations may be successfully concluded and the bill ready for action "in the next couple of months." Garamendi said that the bill "is not going to happen," by which he means pass both the House and Senate.

The negotiations have settled some differences, but not the most important ones.

In particular, some San Joaquin Valley farmers still want the bill to pre-empt state laws to ensure California doesn't restrict irrigation deliveries south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Sacramento Valley farmers fear this would end up threatening their own supplies.

"Our goal is never to upset anybody's water rights," Nunes said, adding that "we're working on a number of things that will benefit Sacramento Valley farmers."

Nunes said he also is working on a separate water bill, which he might try attaching to a big deficit-reduction package. The new bill would include raising water revenues from Bay Area residents, Nunes said.

Substantively, the bill that's already been introduced reverses environmental protections that, combined with drought, have cut federal irrigation deliveries in recent years. Irrigators on the San Joaquin Valley's west side received 50% of their allocation last year and 10% in 2009.

This year, thanks to a wet winter, the farmers are getting 80%.

Politically, the bill jams any Democrat who needs Valley farm votes.

"As usual, anything they can do to worship at the altar of the radical environmentalists, they will do it," Nunes said of Democrats, adding that Sen. Dianne Feinstein "has a two-decade record of destroying the Valley."

Feinstein denounces Nunes for his consistently combative rhetoric, and even some of the congressman's allies believe it might undermine his long-term effectiveness. Senate rules give Feinstein particular clout in stopping legislation that affects California that she doesn't like; in particular, as author of the original San Joaquin River restoration program, Feinstein strongly opposes repeal efforts.

On other water issues, though, Feinstein and her staff have been in protracted discussions with key California interests.



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