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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Decision imminent on Delta water case<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Contra Costa Times – 2/8/06<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>By Juliana Barbassa, Associated Press</span></font></b><font
size=4><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>SACRAMENTO</span></font></st1:City><font
size=4><span style='font-size:14.0pt'> - An 18-year-old court battle over how
much <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> water should flow from a dam to bring
back the salmon that once lived there could be nearing an end as environmental
activists, farm representatives and federal water officials close in on an
agreement.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>A hearing on the case was postponed Tuesday for 30
days after the parties filed a document telling Sacramento U.S. District Judge
Lawrence Karlton they hoped to settle within the next month.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>"The goal is to be expeditious and try to wrap it
up as quick as we can," said Cole Upton, chairman of Friant Water Users
Authority, which delivers river water to about 15,000 farmers and is one of the
defendants. "The judge is pretty adamant he wants to get things moving on
this."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger increased the
pressure on the Department of the Interior to join the Natural Resources
Defense Council and the Friant Water Users Authority in a three-part settlement
by becoming the first governor to weigh in on the dispute.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>The governor's letter to Secretary of the Interior
Gale Norton expressed his "strong support for this potential settlement to
restore 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> in a reasonable and
practical manner."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>But reaching a compromise is difficult because there
are so many interests at stake, from fish to farmers and the approximately 20
million Californians who get their drinking water from the San
Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Since the 1940s, when Friant Dam started holding back
about 90 percent of the river's flow, the water has been used to irrigate more
than a million acres in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San
Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>The diversion also dried large portions of the river
below the dam, killing off the salmon which had relied on the river to spawn,
and decreasing water levels in the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, which
hurt local species and forced farmers in the area to rely on increasingly salty
water.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Environmental groups sued the federal government in
1988. The judge ruled in November 2004 that the federal Bureau of Reclamation,
which operates the dam, had broken state law by not leaving enough water on the
river to sustain the historic salmon population.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>What's in dispute now is how much water is needed to
bring the fish back.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Trial was scheduled for Feb. 14; but intervention from
Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein
brought the parties back to the table.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Since then, progress has been steady -- to the benefit
of all involved, the governor said in his letter.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>"Restoring the <st1:place w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:place>
... will provide broad benefits to the environment, to the federal, state and
local governments, and to millions of Californians," the governor said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>The parties involved in the suit are now reaching out
to water users in the valley as well as to state and federal agencies like the
National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to
hear their perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>The goal is to reach an agreement before the next
court date, they said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>"There's real hope that we'll have a conceptual
agreement within a month," said Barry Nelson, senior policy analyst with
NRDC. "There's no guarantee, but it's a realistic hope."</span></font><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'><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><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'>Advisor, 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'>415 383 9562 fx</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net">bwl3@comcast.net</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org">bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></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><em><i><u><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'>http:www.caltrout.org</span></font></u><font
color=lime><span style='color:lime'> </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'> </span><o:p></o:p></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>
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