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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'>Central Valley farmers may get partial
ownership of reservoir - Associated Press<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'><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'>Federal plan would cede control of water -
Los Angeles Times<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'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>Land deal proposed as
selenium solution; A transfer to irrigators would help them pay to clean up
drainage - Sacramento Bee<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<div style='border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Deal on Delta suit
goes to Congress; State, users would get partial ownership of system; farmers
would give up claims on water, take on draining duties - Contra Costa Times<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 color=black
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:black;
font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Central Valley</span></font></b></st1:place><b><font
size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:
bold'> farmers may get partial ownership of reservoir<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'>Associated Press – 2/16/07<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 Garance Burke, staff writer</span></font></b><font
size=4 color="#72155e" face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#72155E'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>FRESNO</span></font></st1:City><font
size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>,
<st1:State w:st="on">Calif.</st1:State> - The federal government wants to give <st1:place
w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place> farmers partial ownership of a massive
reservoir to settle a lawsuit over drainage problems that led to the deaths and
deformations of birds and other creatures, according to a draft plan obtained
by The Associated Press.<br>
<br>
The complex deal would transfer the federal government's stake in the San Luis
Reservoir, pumping plants and miles of canals to some of the country's biggest
farming operations, who also would gain rights to a large percentage of the
water stored there.<br>
<br>
In exchange, farmers would be responsible for disposing of toxic runoff and
cleaning up thousands of acres of tainted land that is too salty for crops
after intensive irrigation.<br>
<br>
Shifting that cost over to the private sector would save the federal government
about $2.5 billion, said U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Jeff McCracken.<br>
<br>
Environmentalists and congressional representatives briefed on the plan
Thursday expressed surprise at the proposal, which was entirely different from
previous plans.<br>
<br>
"It's being suggested now that one of the most significant environmental
problems in the history of western water can be resolved by privatizing a major
piece of the largest water project in the West," said Rep. George Miller,
D-Martinez. "Is this new plan really in the best interest of the
taxpayers?"<br>
<br>
The San Luis Reservoir, located just off Interstate 5 between Los Banos and <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gilroy</st1:City></st1:place>, holds 2.5 million
acre feet of water, almost one-third of which is used each year to irrigate the
arid Westlands Water District.<br>
<br>
Westlands is the nation's largest water district and includes giants of
agribusiness, such as Harris Farms, one of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>'s biggest farming operations and
Tanimura & Antle, the nation's top lettuce grower.<br>
<br>
Westlands farmers and those who belong to nearby water districts have been
banned from disposing of agricultural runoff since the 1980s when millions of
migratory birds were born deformed after nesting at Kesterson Wildlife Refuge,
where federal officials initially routed the poisonous drainage.<br>
<br>
Irrigation runoff here carries concentrated levels of selenium, a naturally
occurring trace element that washes down from the volcanic mountain range
flanking the valley's western edge. Few realized selenium was toxic when
agricultural water was first pumped into Kesterson, which is part of the
26,609-acre San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, about 80 miles northwest of
Fresno.<br>
<br>
After the environmental disaster, the bureau stopped allowing the drainage to
flow into Kesterson.<br>
<br>
In 1995, the Westlands Water District sued, claiming federal officials who run
the Central Valley Project _ a massive irrigation complex that makes farming
possible in the arid western half of the valley _ reneged on their obligation
to help them dispose of the tainted water.<br>
<br>
Officials have proposed numerous solutions as the case has traveled through the
courts.<br>
<br>
One of the bureau's proposals, favored by some environmentalists, was to retire
vast tracts of farmland altogether. Other ideas included building huge ponds to
evaporate the drain water, or piping it into the delta.<br>
<br>
The new plan to give farmers partial ownership of the reservoir _ which
Westlands officials said was developed with nine other irrigation districts,
the bureau and the California Department of Water Resources _ still is far from
final. Such broad changes would require congressional approval.<br>
<br>
"No one has a greater interest in solving the drainage problem than the
farmers," said Tom Birmingham, Westlands general manager and general
counsel.<br>
<br>
The plan would give the 10 districts the annual rights to 1.1 million acre feet
of water, the largest water right granted since the 1950s, McCracken said.
Information was not immediately available about the conditions under which that
water would be provided in dry years, or in relation to other water users like
cities and rivers upstream.<br>
<br>
<st1:PersonName w:st="on">Bill Walker</st1:PersonName>, who tracks federal
subsidies in agriculture, blasted the proposal.<br>
<br>
"This deal may seem to relieve taxpayers of the costs of the drain, but it
gives away more of California's most precious resource – water - to a
group of irrigators who already receive millions of dollars in crop, water and
energy subsidies," said Walker, a vice president of the Oakland-based
Environmental Working Group.<br>
<br>
Westlands farmers and those who belong to nearby water districts have been
banned from disposing of agricultural runoff since the 1980s when millions of migratory
birds were born deformed after nesting at Kesterson Wildlife Refuge, where
federal officials initially routed the poisonous drainage. #<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><a
href="http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2007/02/16/ap-state-ca/d8nal4cg0.txt">http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2007/02/16/ap-state-ca/d8nal4cg0.txt</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Federal plan would cede control of water<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 style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:
bold'>Los Angeles</span></font></b></st1:City></st1:place><b><font size=4
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>
Times – 2/16/07<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 Bettina Boxall, staff writer</span></font></b><font
size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>The federal government would give a huge block
of water as well as partial control of a large reservoir to powerful <st1:place
w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place> agricultural interests under a possible
agreement aimed at resolving a long-standing farm-drainage problem.<br>
<br>
The complicated proposal amounts to an unprecedented restructuring of the
federal Central Valley Project, the country's largest water-supply operation.<br>
<br>
The project's biggest customer, Westlands Water District, would drop out of the
system, and along with neighboring irrigators would assume the rights to a
million acre-feet of water — more than the city of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:City></st1:place> consumes in a year.<br>
<br>
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the project, would also forgive
a debt of nearly half a billion dollars the irrigators owe for construction of
the mammoth project.<br>
<br>
In return, the federal government would no longer be under obligation to fix a
vexing <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType> drainage problem that could cost <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
taxpayers several billion dollars to solve.<br>
<br>
"This goes beyond anything we've ever considered in its scope," Bureau
of Reclamation spokesman <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Jeffrey McCracken</st1:PersonName>
said. <br>
<br>
The proposal, which would require congressional approval, is under discussion
and has not been endorsed by the reclamation bureau, which Thursday briefed
members of Congress and Interior officials.<br>
<br>
In divorcing Westlands and the project, the plan would end a contentious
relationship between the two and give Westlands, the most powerful irrigation
district in the state, even more clout.<br>
<br>
"It gives us an opportunity to be in greater control of our own destiny,"
said Westlands general manager Tom Birmingham.<br>
<br>
The reclamation bureau would transfer its state water rights permit for a
million acre-feet, roughly a sixth of its entire statewide deliveries, to a
joint powers authority formed by Westlands and other irrigators in the San Luis
unit of the project, on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley.<br>
<br>
The amount is what irrigators have typically gotten from the project, but
400,000 acre-feet less than what their federal contracts call for —
effectively freeing up that quantity for other uses in the federal system
during good water years.<br>
<br>
The federal government would also transfer ownership of the San Luis Reservoir
near Los Banos to the joint authority and the state, which uses about half of
the reservoir to store supplies for the State Water Project.<br>
<br>
The implications of the proposal were not entirely clear Thursday. McCracken
and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:City></st1:place>
both said that because the water Westlands was taking over would continue to be
pumped by federal facilities from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the
deliveries would still be subject to endangered species and other environmental
restrictions. <br>
<br>
Spokesmen for the state and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California, which gets water from the San Luis Reservoir, said they would
evaluate the proposal but were not prepared to comment.<br>
<br>
Longtime critics of the bureau and Westlands were not so reserved. <br>
<br>
Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez) said the plan amounted to the privatization of
a large part of the West's biggest water project and would leave up to the
irrigators how to solve a serious environmental problem.<br>
<br>
"Do we really want to give these water users this kind of control over so
much water?" Miller said in a statement. "Is this new plan really in
the best interest of the taxpayers? Given all of the possible ramifications, it
will be important for Congress to go through this proposal with a fine-toothed
comb." #<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><a
href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-water16feb16,1,1867158.story?coll=la-headlines-california">http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-water16feb16,1,1867158.story?coll=la-headlines-california</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>Land deal proposed as
selenium solution; A transfer to irrigators would help them pay to clean up
drainage<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><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'>Sacramento</span></font></b></st1:City></st1:place><font
size=4 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
Bee – 2/16/07<o:p></o:p></span></font></h1>
<h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>By David Whitney, staff
writer</span></font></b><font size=4><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-weight:normal'><o:p></o:p></span></font></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>A proposal for federal transfer of a big piece
of the Central Valley Project to irrigators, so that they can pay for disposal
of selenium-laced drain water polluting tens of thousands of acres of farmland,
was floated on Capitol Hill on Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>The initial reactions ranged from skepticism
to outright praise.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>The proposal, described as a "concept for
collaboration" between the Bureau of Reclamation and 10 irrigation
districts led by kingpin Westlands Water District, would transfer at no cost
the federal portion of the CVP's San Luis Unit -- reservoirs, pumping plants,
roughly 100 miles of canals and possibly even power plants -- to a joint powers
authority that irrigators would create to pay for cleaning up the drainage
mess.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>While the joint powers authority would own the
system, the bureau still would be in charge of how much water is moved through
the system, and the maximum amount flowing to irrigators would be cut by about
30 percent.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>"We are still in the preliminary stages
of this," Kirk C. Rodgers, the bureau's regional director from <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:City></st1:place>, said.
"This represents a remarkable promise for a good deal. ... I am willing to
put a lot of effort into this solution."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>Rodgers said in an interview that without this
approach, or something like it, the cost of fixing the drainage problem, and
the attendant selenium toxicity threatening wildlife, could reach as high as
$2.6 billion -- almost three times the agency's entire annual budget.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>"There are times when we are talking
about over $500 million a year for a reasonable construction schedule,"
Rodgers said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>Tom Birmingham, <st1:City w:st="on">Westland</st1:City>'s
executive director, called the sketchy deal "an opportunity to solve one
of the most serious resources problems 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 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>Reaction on Capitol Hill was hard to get
Thursday, but what little there was suggested, as one congressional aide said,
that the proposal "is not dead on arrival."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, a leading
House environmental voice and policy adviser to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
D-San Francisco, said that while he has questions about it, the drain problem
is so serious that the proposal deserves close scrutiny.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>"It's being suggested now that one of the
most significant environmental problems in the history of Western water can be
resolved by privatizing a major piece of the largest water project in the
West," Miller said in a statement.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>"Do we really want to give these water
users this kind of control over so much water?" he said. "What will
this mean for the future of our state's water and for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>'s economic growth? Is this new
plan really in the best interest of the taxpayers? <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>Given all of the possible ramifications, it
will be important for Congress to go through this proposal with a fine-toothed
comb."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>The proposal received a more enthusiastic
reception from <st1:place w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place> lawmakers.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said he is fully
supportive and likely would introduce legislation authorizing the deal when all
the details are worked out.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>"At first glance, I believe this has
merit and is a cost-effective way to solve this problem," he said. "I
think they should be commended for thinking outside the box."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, also was
backing the proposal, said his press aide, Spencer Pederson.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>Selenium is a naturally occurring mineral that
in the right amounts is necessary for good health. It is so prevalent on
federally irrigated portions of the <st1:place w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place>,
however, that it must be flushed along with other salts to keep some of the
state's most productive lands in use.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>But that drain water cannot percolate through
a layer of clay beneath the soil, and the result has been the inundation of
tens of thousands of acres where the contaminated brew collects.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>The bureau has tried various ways of dealing
with the drain water, including directing it into Kesterson Reservoir. But
after deformed waterfowl were found there in 1983, releases were halted two
years later.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>Irrigators filed a lawsuit against the bureau
to force it to clean up the problem, and a court has ordered it to do so. Last
summer, just as the bureau was about to file its decision on how it planned to
do that, irrigators and the agency announced they were going to try to resolve
the matter through negotiations. #<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><a
href="http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/124523.html">http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/124523.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Deal on Delta suit
goes to Congress; State, users would get partial ownership of system; farmers
would give up claims on water, take on draining duties<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Contra Costa Times
– 2/16/07<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>By Mike Taugher,
staff writer</span></font></b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>The nation's largest
irrigation district would take partial ownership of an important dam, canals
and pumping plants in exchange for giving up claims to water and relieving the
federal government of its obligation to drain tainted water from the western <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> under a proposal presented to
members of Congress on Thursday.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>It is the latest attempt
to settle a decades-long conundrum of how to dispose of selenium-tainted farm
runoff that was once destined to be dumped in the Delta near <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Antioch</st1:City></st1:place>. The broad outline of the lawsuit
settlement has not been endorsed by any federal agency and requires approval of
Congress, where key members on Thursday sounded guarded about its implications.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>"We need to learn
much more about this proposed settlement," Sen. Dianne Feinstein,
D-Calif., said in an e-mail. "Whether this settlement is just or not, I
simply cannot answer at this time."<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Under the proposal, a
list of ideas still being developed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and
several water agencies, farmers would take over the federal government's
court-ordered obligation to drain their farms. They would also give up claims
to 400,000 acre-feet of water -- enough for about 800,000 homes -- and they
would turn over another 43,000 acre-feet of water to regulators to be used for
environmental purposes.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>In exchange, the federal
government would hand over ownership of key portions of the water system south
of <st1:place w:st="on">Silicon Valley</st1:place> to water users and to the
state. The facilities to be transferred include San Luis Dam and Reservoir.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Farmers also would be
assured of getting more reliable water supplies and would be forgiven $490
million in debt for dams, canals and pumps.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Critics of the deal said
it overstates the environmental benefits because farmers rarely get the 400,000
acre-feet of water to which they would relinquish claims in expiring contracts.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>"If they're willing
to take 400,000 off (a more modest claim), then you can have a
conversation," said Tom Graff, regional director for Environmental Defense
in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Oakland</st1:City></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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>At issue is how to
dispose of tainted runoff from some of the 600 farms in the sprawling Westlands
Water District, which lies just east of Interstate 5 and stretches from the <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Fresno</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType>
towns of Firebaugh and Mendota south to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Kettleman</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">City</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.
Runoff from western <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> farms was blamed
for gross bird deformities at the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in the
1980s.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>After that disaster, the
wildlife refuge was closed, farm drains were plugged and the Westlands district
was left without a place to dispose of its water. The federal government is now
under court order to provide drainage service and has considered buying out
farmers and fallowing land, piping the runoff into the Delta near <st1:City
w:st="on">Antioch</st1:City> or to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Morro</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> or treating the
water. All of those options have proved difficult.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Tom Birmingham,
Westlands' general manager, said the district would resolve the drainage
problems by reducing the amount of runoff and allowing the rest to evaporate.
This would be done by first retiring 100,000 acres of the 600,000-acre
Westlands district and then improving water-use efficiency on the rest of the
district's cropland. The remaining runoff would be reused to irrigate
salt-tolerant crops such as pistachios and some forage grasses.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Finally, the runoff from
those fields would be sprinkled on gravel beds instead of evaporation ponds so
that birds would not be attracted and exposed to contaminants.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>The drainage
improvements would be financed by payments that farmers would otherwise make to
the government, in part to repay the $490 million owed to taxpayers that would
be forgiven if the plan is approved.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>"We see this as an
opportunity to implement in a timely manner a viable solution to the drainage
without having to rely on federal appropriations," <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:City></st1:place> 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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>He said the proposal is
a good deal for taxpayers because the reclamation bureau has estimated the cost
of draining the district at more than $2 billion.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>But Graff, of
Environmental Defense, said farmers might be obligated to repay the government
for any drainage improvements.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>In any case, turning
over key facilities now owned by the federal government to resolve that problem
is certain to be controversial.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>"It's being
suggested now that one of the most significant environmental problems in the
history of western water can be resolved by privatizing a major piece of the
largest water project in the West," Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, said
in a statement. "This would be an unprecedented development, to say the
least, and you have to give them an A for creativity."<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Rep. Jim Costa,
D-Fresno, whose district includes the Westlands district, said he supports the
proposal.<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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>"It's not like the
Bureau of Reclamation can just walk away from this. It's a far better deal for
the taxpayers," Costa said. #<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><a
href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/email/news/16712996.htm">http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/email/news/16712996.htm</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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