[env-trinity] Feinstein water bill introduced in Congress

[Tom Stokely]

http://www.trinityjournal.com/news/local/article_eb3b1a38-d515-11e5-b0d7-4f1c6e58063f.html

Feinstein water bill introduced in Congress
By AMY GITTELSOHN The Trinity Journal | Posted: Wednesday, February 17, 2016 6:15 amU.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has introduced a revised water bill to Congress addressing how to divide and increase the available water during the historic drought in California.Feinstein called the 184-page measure the result of numerous meetings and input from an array of stakeholders.Some of the provisions raise red flags for environmental organizations concerned with the impacts on fish, including salmon in the Trinity River.From the California Water Impact Network, Water Quality Coordinator Tom Stokely pointed out that one section of the bill pertaining to allocations for Sacramento Valley water service contractors requires mandated deliveries depending on water year type.“That will be a disaster for salmon on the Trinity as well as the Sacramento River,” he said. “By mandating deliveries regardless of storage in the reservoirs it will assure significant negative impacts to both salmon and to people, especially during extended drought.”Calling it “a recipe for dead pools,” he said, “then nobody gets any water.”Feinstein’s bill introduced Feb. 10, the California Long-Term Provisions for Water Supply and Short-Term Provisions for Emergency Drought Relief Act, would invest $1.3 billion in long-term projects such as in water storage, desalinization and recycling. Feinstein, D-Calif., says it does not violate laws such as the Endangered Species Act. Short-term provisions such as easing water transfers would sunset after two years or when the drought emergency ends, whichever is longer.Feinstein noted that the Central Valley Project and State Water Project, “the two key systems that move water from Northern California to Southern California,” both were largely completed when 16 million people lived in the state which is now home to 40 million.“Projects to store additional water in reservoirs and create new water through recycling and desalination have fallen woefully behind,” she said.She also claimed that biological opinions adopted several years ago to govern when and how much water can be moved through the water systems don’t reflect the most recent science.“More water could safely be pumped during high-rainfall periods like winter storms while continuing to protect fish if we were to employ regular monitoring of water turbidity and locations of fish,” she said.She said dozens and dozens of meetings and revisions took place to incorporate feedback from stakeholder groups, Democrats, Republicans, environmental groups, water districts, state agencies, cities, rural communities, fishermen and the agricultural industry. There was also extensive consultation with federal agencies.For the long-term, the bill would authorize $600 million for CALFED water storage projects, which may include both federal projects (Shasta) and non-federal projects (Sites, Temperance Flat, Los Vaqueros). There would also be increased funds for recycling and reuse of water, desalinization, for loan guarantees for water districts and municipalities for water projects.There are short-term, low cost proposals to protect and recover fish populations including Delta salmon and smelt.The bill includes “short-term operational provisions” for the duration of the governor’s drought declaration or two years, whichever is longer.Those include increased monitoring of the location of endangered and threatened fish in the Delta and use of that information, “not intuition,” for increasing and reducing pump operations. The agencies would have to justify the levels they pump at and explain reductions for smelt.Agencies would be allowed to keep additional water they pump during winter storms for storage or transfer and not have to pay it back unless there was an environmental reason.However, a provision from an earlier bill that would have mandated pumping of the Bay Delta at the higher levels of the authorized range has been deleted. House Republicans have said mandated pumping levels are necessary.The shorter-term measures would also extend the time period for water transfers by five months from July through September to April through November.
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