River plan pleases all sides
Negotiators find compromise to restore salmon, protect water projects
By: Michael Doyle | Publication: Fresno Bee,
Sep 28, 2006 -
Exhausted Capitol Hill negotiators agreed Wednesday on
legislation to revive the San Joaquin
River below Friant Dam.
They established a new "experimental population"
of salmon, while still protecting operations on local dams and water projects.
They calmed the fears of farmers and water districts more
than 100 miles downstream of the dam by agreeing to protect hydroelectric power
licenses and limiting emergency water diversions for salmon.
Negotiators also ensured a continuing flow of money to the
restoration for 20 years. The agreement sets up legislation that in theory
needs to be passed by Dec. 31.
Haggling until midnight
Tuesday, and returning to the fray Wednesday morning, negotiators finally
settled their differences on what could become one of the nation's most
ambitious environmental restoration efforts.
"I am hopeful that today's agreement will help
transform the San Joaquin into a living river, and
ensure that the hard-working men and women in the Friant service area will
continue to have a stable water supply," Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein
declared in a statement.
The next big problem is time, which Congress is short of.
The deal improves the chances that Congress this year will
approve the legislation needed to start the river restoration. It also reduces
the risk of more legal snags down the line.
Initially, negotiators spoke of getting this bill passed by
Dec. 31. Theoretically, that could still happen in a lame-duck session after
the November election. That, however, would require the help of other Western
senators who may not be eager to move so quickly.
"I'm pleased with the progress that's been made,"
said Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, but "we have to look at this seriously.
The Congress has to take its time; we have to hold hearings."
At the request of Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, a field hearing
could be held later this year in the San Joaquin
Valley.
With an estimated cost ranging between $250 million and $800
million, the San Joaquin River
restoration plan will combine state, local and federal efforts over the next 20
years. The overall concept was agreed to two weeks ago, settling a long-running
lawsuit.
The concept, though, must be converted into legislation. The
package resolved Wednesday following some 100 hours of further negotiations
covers the myriad details needed to make the settlement work. The bill does not
specify exactly how much the work will cost. It does reassure water users
outside of the San Joaquin Valley's
east side.
"We're very happy with the language," said Tim
O'Laughlin, attorney for the San Joaquin Tributaries Association.
The association represents water customers in San
Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced
counties. The South San Joaquin, Modesto,
Turlock, Oakdale and Merced
irrigation districts had all worried they could suffer under the San
Joaquin River
settlement.
The overall lawsuit settlement calls for upward of 200,000
acre-feet of water annually to be sent down the now-parched San
Joaquin River
channel. Chinook salmon are to be introduced into the river by Dec. 31, 2012. Untold millions of
dollars will be spent on levees and other improvements so the river channel can
handle the flows.
The lawsuit settlement agreement reached Sept. 13 between
environmentalists and the Friant Water Users Authority included a five-page
proposed bill for Congress to consider. By Wednesday, this draft legislation
had grown to nine excruciatingly detailed pages.
"It is remarkable that we have reached such a broad
consensus on the settlement and its implementing legislation," said Hal
Candee, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
In part, the new deal reassures water agencies that they can
renew their Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licenses on the Merced
and Tuolumne rivers without additional environmental
requirements solely because of the new salmon population.
The deal also guarantees that federal officials in
protecting the salmon "will not impose more than de minimis water supply
reductions, additional storage releases or bypass flows" on the water
districts.
Negotiators further agreed to reallocate some of the fees
charged to Friant water customers to pay for the river restoration project for
the next 20 years. Originally, this reallocation would have lasted only nine
years, worrying some who believed more money would be needed.
"I'm really pleased they were able to satisfy the
concerns of the third parties," said Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa.
"It's pretty remarkable."
Radanovich and Feinstein had helped instigate the original
lawsuit negotiations last year, and Feinstein pushed hard over the past week to
get the draft legislation finished. The final agreement reached in her office Wednesday
morning was greeted with applause and handshakes.
Even so, some Valley lawmakers voiced dissatisfaction with
the haggling that included environmentalists making a last-minute push for an
additional concession Wednesday morning. Merced Democrat Dennis Cardoza, while
supporting the final compromise, added that "this process should never be
repeated [because] legislating by lawsuit is not the way to do public
policy."
The reporter can be reached at mdoyle@mcclatchydc.com or (202) 383-0006.
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