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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>State
And Federal Government Rush Plan To Increase Delta Diversions<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>by Dan Bacher<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The state and federal
governments are attempting to rush through a complex plan that would expand the
pumping capacity of the Delta pumps, paving the way for more water to ship
south to the Westlands Water District and <st1:place w:st="on">Southern
California</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Environmental, fishermen’s
groups and Indian tribes argued during two public meetings in Sacramento held
jointly by state and federal agencies in Sacramento on October 7 and October 12
that the Operations Criteria and Plan<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>(OCAP) would spell doom
for salmon, steelhead and other fish now recovering from years of massive water
diversions and habitat degradation.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“Kiss <st1:place
w:st="on">Northern California</st1:place> rivers goodbye if the state and
federal agencies get the plumbing in place to suck more water out of the
Delta,” said Steve Evans Conservation Director of Friends of the River.
“Already, water exports are killing salmon and poisoning water in
upstream rivers and the Delta. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Increasing diversions
will only add to the problem, while subsidizing corporate cotton growers in the
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType>
and urban sprawl in <st1:place w:st="on">Southern California</st1:place>.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The public meetings
appear to be “dog and pony shows” masquerading as attempts to get
“public input” when the real decisions have already been largely
made behind the scenes in backroom secret agreements like the “Napa
Agreement” last year. The state Department of Water Resources (DWR) and
the federal Bureau of Reclamation plan to integrate their parallel storage and
pumping facilities and sign 25 to 40 year contracts with <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
irrigation districts.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The Bureau and DWR are
seeking immediate approval to begin implementing the water deal, in spite of
criticism by 15 representatives led by Congressman George Miller, and Senators
Boxer and Feinstein and State Senator Mike Machado that not enough public
involvement or oversight was included. The Bureau, DWR and a few favored water
districts developed the joint-state federal plan away from public scrutiny.
They completely excluded Indian tribes, fishermen’s organizations and
environmental groups from the process.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Zeke Grader, executive
director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, at
the October 7 meeting referred to an explosive Sacramento Bee story that
documented how NOAA Fisheries biologists were ordered to revise a draft biological
opinion to be less protective of winter run chinooks. He asked the
Bureau’s Chet Bowling whether he knew of any political interference with
the OCAP biological opinion and whether the report would be peer reviewed.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“I don’t have
personal information on that,” Bowling responded.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>When Gary Mulcahy of the
Winnemem Wintu Tribe questioned whether the expansion of Shasta Dam was being
considered under the biological opinion, Bowling said it wasn’t on the
table in the OCAP review process.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“This is a life and
death issue for our tribe, since the raising of the dam would flood several of
our sacred sites,” said Mulcahy. “The raising of Shasta Dam is a
key component of the expansion of the storage capacity of the state and federal
projects. When I bring this up at a meeting, they say we can talk about one
piece of the plan but not another. The problem is that you can’t talk
about one piece of the plan without talking about the other. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>And all of this plan is
contingent on Shasta Dam being raised to provide more capacity for water
storage.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>And when I asked a
federal biologist how the Bureau of Reclamation’s OCAP process was going
to deal with the extensive pre-spawning salmon mortality in the American River
(181,709 over the past three years) because of low, warm water, he responded
that fishermen were catching less fish in the ocean and too many fish were
moving in to the river for the available habitat.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In a press conference on
October 12, representatives from conservation organizations and Indian tribes
vigorously attacked the OCAP process. One of the problems about this process is
that it is very hard to get a straight answer on how much water will be
actually exported.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In an interview with Bob
Simms of KFBK Radio, a Bureau of Reclamation official, Jeff McCracken contended
that the water exported by the federal government through 2020 would be
actually less than it is now. Environmental groups argue that the Bureau and
state are practicing a “shell game’ where the amount of water they
claim is destined for export is different depending upon whom they're talking
to.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>According to Barry
Nelson, policy analyst of the Natural Resources Defense council, the Bureau is
operating two different sets of books. “They told the fish agencies that
just under 700,000 acre feet of water – 61 percent of capacity, will be
diverted. At the same time, they have told Westlands Water District in their
12a pricing documents that they will give them 100 percent of their deliveries,
1,100,000 acre feet of water,” he stated.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Nelson said the plan
proposes to export 600,000 additional acre-feet of water. This is separate from
proposed transfers within the system.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“OCAP provides for
a massive increase in Delta diversions,” said Nelson. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“They are turning
Calved into a sham. CalFed was intended to develop balanced solutions in an
open process. The Napa Deal and OCAP are a huge step backward. They represent a
return to confrontations and back room deals at the expense of water quality
and healthy fisheries.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Zeke Grader said now is a
good time to actually reduce water diversions, rather than signing new
long-term water contracts that provide for more diversions. Grader emphasized
that Central Valley salmon provide 90 percent of the salmon caught commercially
and recreationally off the <st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State> coast,
as well as a large percentage of fish taken off <st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State>
and <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:State>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“The Bureau of
Reclamation and agribusiness are trying to bring to the Bay-Delta the same
style of management that led to disasters on the <st1:City w:st="on">Columbia</st1:City>,
Klamath and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Trinity</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Rivers</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, ignoring science
while deal-making in smoke filled rooms,” he stated. “These
agencies are putting hard working fishing families out of work to provide
corporate welfare for agribusiness.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The subversion of
science, the exclusion of the public from the real decisions regarding their
public trust resources and the favoring of agribusiness and big municipal water
districts over other water users smacks of political corruption and deal making
at its worst.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“It appears that
the agencies are taking their marching orders from the Bush
administration,” said Christina Swanson, fisheries biologist for the Bay
Institute. “If they don’t like the scientist’s finding, they
simply sweep the data under the rug.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>And restoring water to
rivers like the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> below Friant Dam,
as ordered under a recent federal court decision, seems even more improbable
with an increase in water exports. "There are five year old catfish in
the <st1:place w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:place> below Friant that haven't
learned how to swim yet," quipped John Banks of the California Striped
Bass Association.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The OCAP process is clearly yet another example of political science
triumphing over natural science – and the fish, Indian tribes,
recreational anglers and commercial fishermen are all losing. Everybody
concerned about this blatant water grab should send a letter immediately to the
Congressman and Senators asking them to suspend the water contract process
until the public has more real input into the OCAP Process. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><em><i><font size=3 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker</span></font></i></em></st1:PersonName><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity
River</st1:place></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Consultant, California Trout, Inc.</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>PO Box</span></font></i></em></st1:Street><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'> 2327</span></font></i></em></st1:address><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>Mill Valley</span></font></i></em></st1:City><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, <st1:State w:st="on">CA</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">94942-2327</st1:PostalCode></span></font></i></em></st1:place><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810 ph</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810 ce</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 9562 fx</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net">bwl3@comcast.net</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><em><i><font
face="Times New Roman"><span style='text-decoration:none'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></font></i></em></a><em><i><font
face="Times New Roman"> (secondary)</font></i></em><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="http://www.fotr.org">http://www.fotr.org</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-style:italic'><a href="http://www.caltrout.org">http://www.caltrout.org</a></span><o:p></o:p></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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