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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 color=black face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Stakes
are high as officials review valley's water rules<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 color=black face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Hearing
in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Fresno</st1:City></st1:place> to
look at progress of act, effect on farmers<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><b><font size=4
color=black face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;
color:black;font-weight:bold'>Modesto</span></font></b></st1:City></st1:place><b><font
size=4 color=black face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;
color:black;font-weight:bold'> Bee – 3/13/06<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 color=black face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Michael
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Doyle</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Washington</st1:State></st1:place>
Bureau</span></font></b><i><font size=4 color=black><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;color:black;font-style:italic'><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-style:italic'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-style:italic'>Last Updated: March 13, 2006,
08:40:45 AM PST</span></font></i><font size=4><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:State w:st="on"><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>WASHINGTON</span></font></st1:State><font
size=4 color=black><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'> — Congress
rewrote the <st1:place w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place>'s water rules in
1992. Now, those rules are getting a second, third and fourth look. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>High-stakes talks under way in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:City></st1:place> are following
two tracks. One is to yield the federal government's first official report card
on how well the 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act is working. A
parallel study could result in valley farmers paying less money into an
environmental fund. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Lawmakers are weighing in, too. A House
subcommittee hearing set for March24 in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Fresno</st1:City></st1:place>
is to bring the congressional spotlight to bear on controversies that defy easy
solution. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>"It's time to take a look at this
program," said Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa. "We need to get
the facts out." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Far-reaching results</span></font></b><font
size=4 color=black><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>The Central Valley Project Improvement Act
dramatically changed how the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Redding-to-Bakersfield</st1:City></st1:place>
series of dams and canals operates. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>It guaranteed 800,000 acre-feet of water
annually to fish and wildlife protection. One acre-foot of water is enough to
cover an acre of ground one foot deep. It also is enough to meet the water
needs of a family of five for a year. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>It also established a restoration fund of
about $50 million a year and shortened water contracts, among other things. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Twelve years ago, Radanovich won his first
congressional election in part over farmers' dissatisfaction with the 1992
water reform law. Now, he is chairman of the House water and power
subcommittee, giving him a platform to ask questions and, sometimes, get
answers. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>"It's to find out what has been
accomplished in the past 12 or 14years," Radanovich said of the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Fresno</st1:City></st1:place> hearing. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Usually, these hearings closely track the
perspective of the Republicans who control Congress. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Last year, for instance, Radanovich
convened a hearing titled "Stabilizing rural electricity service through
common sense application of the Endangered Species Act." Four wit-nesses
represented power generators, one represented tribes and one represented environmentalists.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Details being worked out</span></font></b><font
size=4 color=black><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Similarly, Radanovich conducted a hearing
last year on environmental regulations and water-supply reliability. Six
witnesses represented farmers or were sympathetic to their interests, while one
represented an environmental group. A July 2005 hearing on the Bureau of
Reclamation's water and power projects drew five witnesses from water or power
groups, one witness representing Western states and one voicing primarily
environmental views. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Radanovich said the witnesses haven't been
selected for the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Fresno</st1:City></st1:place>
hearing nor has an exact location been pinpointed. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>The members who are likely to attend,
though — including Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, and Rep. Jim Costa,
D-Fresno — have been skeptical, to various degrees, of the 1992 law. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>"I think it's dismal," agreed
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia. "This has been an unfair tax on farmers; they
sure don't like to see all this money that's been wasted." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Nunes is to attend the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Fresno</st1:City></st1:place> hearing, although he is no longer a
member of the House Resources Committee. The chief House sponsor of the Central
Valley Project Improvement Act, however, will be absent. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>"It is one of the most important
statutory protections in place for the bay-delta and for the watersheds of the <st1:place
w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place>," Rep. George Miller, D-Concord,
wrote to Radanovich last week. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>"Californians have benefited
tremendously from the CVPIA." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Miller further complained that because of
previously scheduled commitments in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">New
Orleans</st1:City></st1:place> and on South Dakota Indian reservations, he
can't attend the session on the legislation sometimes called the Miller-Bradley
law. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Bradley stands for Bill Bradley, the
former <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">New Jersey</st1:State></st1:place>
senator who was co-sponsor of the measure.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>The hearing will not delve into highly
secret negotiations over potential settlement of a long-running <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> lawsuit. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>This week, though, parties to the
potential settlement are to brief lawmakers. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Leave differences at door</span></font></b><font
size=4 color=black><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>This week, as well, officials are to
continue mediator-led discussions in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:City></st1:place>
on how well the 1992 law is working. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Participants from the Fish and Wildlife
Service, the Bureau of Reclamation and <st1:place w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place>
irrigation groups are being advised to "drop your history at the
door," according to minutes of one recent meeting. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>"(It) is being watched closely in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Washington</st1:State></st1:place>, because
there is little experience in applying this type of review to adaptive
management programs," Susan Ramos of the Bureau of Reclamation told
participants last month, according to minutes obtained by Miller's office.</span></font><o:p></o:p></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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