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<DIV class=body-head><FONT face=Tahoma><STRONG>It is my understanding that most
environmental, conservation and fishery groups opposed this legislation as
"unbalanced." The claims that this is a consensus bill with environmental
interests on board is a farce. </STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=body-head><STRONG><FONT face=Tahoma></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV class=body-head><STRONG><FONT face=Tahoma>TS</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV class=body-head><STRONG><FONT face=Tahoma
size=4></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV class=body-head><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><STRONG>House passes $395 million
CalFed bill, sends it to president</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=body-head><FONT size=4><FONT face=Tahoma><STRONG><IMG height=5
src="file:///C:/images/common/spacer.gif" width=1><BR><SPAN class=byline><SPAN
class=creditline>Associated Press -
10/6/04</SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=body-head><FONT size=4><FONT face=Tahoma><STRONG><SPAN
class=byline>By Erica Werner, staff writer</SPAN></STRONG></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=body-head><SPAN class=body-content><FONT size=4><SPAN
class=dateline></SPAN></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV class=body-head><SPAN class=body-content><FONT size=4><SPAN
class=dateline>WASHINGTON</SPAN><SPAN class=dateline-separator><STRONG>
-</STRONG> </SPAN>The House of Representatives passed a sweeping $395 million
California water bill Wednesday, sending the milestone legislation to the
president after a decade of dispute.</FONT></DIV>
<P><FONT size=4>The bill to authorize the California Federal Bay-Delta Program,
better known as CalFed, aims to restore California's fragile Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta and ensure a reliable water supply for millions of users. It
represents the first major changes to California's water systems since the
1960s.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>"This historic bill is a giant step forward in resolving
California's water supply problems," said House Resources Committee Chairman
Richard Pombo, R-Tracy.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>"When it comes to water, nothing is easy. Everything is hard,"
said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who worked with Pombo to champion the
legislation.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>The bill passed on a voice vote and President Bush is expected
to sign it soon.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>The CalFed legislation seeks to satisfy often-warring groups of
farmers, environmentalists and residential users with provisions on storage,
restoration and recycling.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>It authorizes feasibility studies for several major new storage
projects and includes $90 million for reconstructing levees. It contains
ecosystem restoration projects, provisions to expedite approval of 49 recycling
projects and an Environmental Water Account to ensure water for fisheries. Water
flows to thirsty Southern California are increased, and the bill requires a
federal feasibility study on restoring California's largest lake, the Salton
Sea, which is suffering from increasing salinity.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>The House approval came after Pombo and other House members
decided they could accept the version of the bill passed by the Senate last
month. The bill leaves out so-called pre-authorization language that would have
allowed the secretary of the Interior to approve four specific water storage
projects without congressional sign-off - enlarging Los Vaqueros reservoir in
Contra Costa County, raising the Shasta Dam, surface storage on the Upper San
Joaquin, and the Sites reservoir in the Antelope Valley.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>Some California House Republicans believed the pre-authorization
language was necessary to guarantee needed storage projects would get built, but
key Senate leaders opposed it. In the end Pombo and other House members were
satisfied with language in the Senate bill that pressures Congress to act
quickly on the projects once feasibility studies have been conducted.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>If Congress doesn't act, the Interior secretary would have to
declare the CalFed program "out of balance" and recommend ways to regain balance
between environmental and storage measures.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>The bill "creates storage as the linchpin for implementation of
all CalFed elements," Pombo said. "This bill ensures that the program will be
carried out in balance with new water storage or else the program will simply
not exist."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>Lawmakers also got a commitment from Sen. Pete Domenici of New
Mexico, Republican chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, that
he would try to include $11 million for the feasibility studies in a spending
bill for the 2005 fiscal year. The studies for the four storage projects have an
overall pricetag of about $50 million, of which the federal share is about $28.5
million.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>Environmental groups have expressed fears that streamlining
storage projects would override concerns about the effect on the environment,
and have favored more conservation programs instead.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pressed lawmakers to get the
legislation passed. He and Pombo spoke Tuesday night, and Schwarzenegger faxed
Pombo a letter assuring him that the state would come up with its share of
funding for the feasibility studies.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>"Every aspect of our golden state - the people, the environment,
agriculture and industry - benefits from this balanced legislation," the
governor said in a statement Wednesday.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>Congressional appropriators would have to determine exact
funding levels for projects in the bill later. But without the authorization
bill, no money could be appropriated. The bill spans six years, through
2010.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>The CalFed program, a state-federal effort, has been in the
works for a decade. The current effort stems from a 2000 agreement, reached
after years of negotiations, on a package of projects to ensure water for
different groups of users.#</FONT></P></SPAN></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>