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<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><b><font
size=4 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;
font-weight:bold'>SAN JOAQUIN</span></font></b></st1:PlaceName><b><font
size=4 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;
font-weight:bold'> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">RIVER</st1:PlaceType></span></font></b></st1:place><b><font
size=4 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;
font-weight:bold'>:<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Some see a deal to get river
rolling; A long-sought pact for dry <st1:place w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:place>
could become reality after Monday hearing<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
face=Tahoma><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;
font-weight:bold'>Sacramento</span></font></b></st1:City></st1:place><b><font
size=4 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;
font-weight:bold'> Bee – 6/17/06<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>By Michael Doyle -- and Mark Grossi
-- <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Fresno</st1:City></st1:place> Bee</span></font></b><font
size=4><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:State w:st="on"><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>WASHINGTON</span></font></st1:State><font
size=4><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'> -- The dried <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
might flow again, along with lots and lots of money, under a historic deal
coming closer by the hour. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Long-warring parties who beat the odds to become
negotiating partners will march once again before a federal judge in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:City></st1:place> on Monday. In
their hands could be an accord that reshapes <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>'s water future. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>"The agreement is there," said Rep. George
Radanovich, R-Mariposa. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Attorneys for farmers and environmentalists quietly
concur, though the final haggling could well last all weekend. Negotiators are
motivated. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>They know that if they fail, U.S. District Judge
Lawrence Karlton will impose his own unpredictable solution -- which might hit
farmers hard. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>"The negotiators believe that it is possible to
reach agreement in principle on the few remaining issues before June 19, and
will continue to work between now and the status conference," attorneys
advised Karlton on Thursday. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Details are cloaked and negotiators tight-lipped.
Still, any deal will be heard loud and clear throughout the West. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>It will be ambitious, as officials revive the <st1:place
w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:place> for the first time since Friant Dam began
constraining the river in the 1940s. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>It will be far-reaching, with water users as far north
as the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta waiting nervously to see the plans. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>It will be expensive, with <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
restoration costs estimated at a minimum of $100 million and possibly much
more, depending on how the river is restored. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>It will also quickly become congressional business.
Federal authorization will be required for the levees, streambed improvements
and other work required to enliven the seasonally dry river with about 200,000
acre-feet of water annually. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover an
acre to the depth of 1 foot, or about 326,000 gallons. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>"If there's an agreement, we will come together
to write the enabling legislation," said Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Last September, urged on by Radanovich and Sen. Dianne
Feinstein, D-Calif., the Friant Water Users Authority and the Natural Resources
Defense Council began quietly conferring on how to settle a <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 first brought in 1988. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>The lawsuit challenges contract renewals for Friant,
which represents 15,000 east <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San
Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
farmers. Arguments quickly turned to the loss of the river's two salmon runs in
the late 1940s when two large stretches of the river dried up. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>State law requires dam operators to provide enough
downstream flow to keep fisheries going. Nonetheless, state officials squelched
complaints from their own Department of Fish and Game and allowed the federal
government to dry up the river. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Then-Gov. Edmund "Pat" Brown agreed with
federal officials who wanted to irrigate highly productive land. Friant's
lawyers have always maintained this is what Congress intended. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>But in 1997, Karlton invalidated 14 contracts, ruling
environmental reviews were not properly conducted. After the U.S. Supreme Court
refused to hear the case, the two sides spent more than three years trying to
settle. They wound up back in federal court by 2003. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>In August 2004, Karlton decided the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation broke state law by drying up the river and wiping out the salmon
runs. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>He has been poised since February to craft a solution
unless a settlement is reached. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>The politics are as complex as the litigation. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>The congressman who represents most of the Friant
district on the Valley's east side, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, bluntly
distrusts environmentalists. Nor does he want to release water from Friant for
the purpose of saving the long-dry San Joaquin; at most, he indicated, he
"may not oppose" the final deal. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Downstream water users in <st1:City w:st="on">Merced</st1:City>,
Stanislaus and <st1:place w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:place> counties worry they
might be hurt. For instance, some fear they will shoulder new Endangered
Species Act burdens in order to protect the spring run of the chinook salmon
enraptured by 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>'s new flow. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>"I'm hopeful that we'll come up with a solution
that works for everyone," said Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>On the other hand, a revived river would help water
quality downstream, where environmentalists derisively talk of the "lower
colon of 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>." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>A healthy <st1:place w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:place>
would mean higher water quality in the Delta, the source of drinking water for
about 23 million Californians. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>But, back on the Valley's west side, another third
party worries about what will happen if the river is restored. The westside
farmers who once used the <st1:place w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:place> for
irrigation have instead taken water from the Delta for years. They farm more
than 200,000 valuable acres along the dried and withered sections of the river.
A live river will inevitably spill out onto surrounding land, Central
California Irrigation District officials fear. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>"Most of the big expense of restoring the river
will take place right in this stretch," said district manager Chris White.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Friant and the Natural Resources Defense Council
neared an agreement several months ago. The struggle ever since has been to
brief groups like Central California, <st1:City w:st="on">Modesto</st1:City>
and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Turlock</st1:City></st1:place>
irrigation districts and to tinker as necessary with the final language</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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