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<h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><st1:place w:st="on"><b><font
size=4 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>SAN
JOAQUIN</span></font></b></st1:place><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> VALLEY CLEANUP:<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'>Editorial: Unsolved
drainage mess; Should feds cut deal with <st1:place w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:place>
farms?<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 – 2/26/07</span></font><font size=4><span lang=EN style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-weight:normal'><o:p></o:p></span></font></h1>
<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'>Congress and the federal Bureau of Reclamation
set in motion an environmental mess when the bureau began supplying irrigation
water in the 1960s to 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>.<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 soils are both highly productive and
highly problematic. While they grow some of the biggest almond crops on the
planet and spectacular fields of lettuce, the ground contains high
concentrations of salts and selenium. This particular element can literally
kill wildlife that comes in contact with it. When the federal government
started draining the runoff from the west valley's farm fields into a wildlife
refuge known as Kesterson, the birds in the refuge began hatching mangled
offspring that belonged in a horror movie.<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 feds stopped draining the water into
Kesterson, but they never solved the problem. Instead, they essentially put a
plug at the bottom of a bathtub. This has trapped this salty runoff underground
or let it leach into the troubled <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 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'>Now this bathtub needs a drain and a
decontamination system. But what?<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'>Welcome to another <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place> water conflict, where all the
options are expensive, controversial and complicated beyond human description.
And the political solution will involve the kind of bipartisan cooperation that
isn't usually in the state's political gene pool.<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's Central Valley Project is lauded
in textbooks as a monument to the federal government's ability to reshape the
West by damming a mighty river (the <st1:City w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:City>
at Mount Shasta) and diverting the water (via a canal far downstream in the
Delta) to 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'>The CVP truly did transform the Valley,
turning desert into endless fields of crops. But desert agriculture demands a
sophisticated drainage system. If the water applied to the crops stays
underground, it accumulates the salts in the soil and can kill the next crop if
the groundwater rises to the root zone.<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 original solution -- building a drain to
send this soup to the delicate Delta -- has been a nonstarter for years. So
what's the solution? Many environmental activists have long called for massive
retirements of farmland on the west side. The farmers say they plan to retire
some lands, but want to stay in business, and you can see their point. They are
some of the most sophisticated, productive growers on the planet.<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'>Besides, the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> government (as in us, the
taxpayers) is on the hook for devising the drainage solution, thanks to a
controversial ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Bureau of
Reclamation hasn't unveiled that solution, but preliminary ideas suggest that
the project could be comparable to the agency's entire annual budget. How
likely is that?<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'>And then consider this: How likely is another
lawsuit by the farmers against the federal government if it were to ignore that
legal obligation to clean up the lands? Is your head hurting yet? Good. Welcome
to <st1:place w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:place>'s version of "West Side
Story."<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, in a "concept paper," is
suggesting a strategic retreat from the San Joaquin Valley: The farmers get a
big piece of the Central Valley Project -- part ownership of a big dam (San
Luis), ownership of a million acre-feet of water rights (nearly as much as
Southern California's share of the Delta) and forgiveness of about a
half-billion dollars in back payments to build the CVP. In exchange, the
farmers clean up their own lands.<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'>This idea was hatched in an ultra secret
process that involved no public input and no public meetings. But this project
is the property of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United
States</st1:country-region></st1:place>, as are the water rights. Any
solution must find the necessary votes in Congress and the support of the
farmers, who have the courts on their side.<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 another thorny problem for <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>'s premiere
water leader, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, to add to a growing list. This won't be
solved by a classic backroom water deal, but with diplomacy demanded by every
interest that deeply cares about the Valley and the Delta. A chance to finally
solve this problem shouldn't go down the drain.</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=2 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker</span></font></i></em></st1:PersonName><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=2 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:gray'>Friends of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity
River</st1:place>, Chair</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=2 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:gray'>California Trout,Inc., Advisor</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:address tabIndex="0"
style="BACKGROUND-POSITION: left bottom; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(res://ietag.dll/#34/#1001); BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat-x"
w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on"><em><i><font size=2 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:gray'>PO Box</span></font></i></em></st1:Street><em><i><font
size=2 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
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=2 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
color:gray'>Mill Valley</span></font></i></em></st1:City><em><i><font size=2
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;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=2 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810 ph</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=2 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 9562 fx</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=2 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:blue;font-style:italic'><a
href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><em><i><font face="Times New Roman">bwl3@comcast.net</font></i></em></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=2 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:blue;font-style:italic'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><em><i><font face="Times New Roman">bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</font></i></em></a></span></font></i><em><i><font
size=2 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
color:blue'> </span></font></i></em><em><i><font size=2 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></font></i></em><i><font
size=2 color=blue><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:blue;font-style:italic'><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><u><font size=2 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
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