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<DIV><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Ruling on delta protects fish,
jeopardizes California water deliveries - Associated
Press<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Deadline
set on permits for delta pumping; </SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT face=Tahoma
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Judge
threatens a halt unless the state gets permission to kill endangered fish.
Officials cite the economic effect of a shutdown - Los Angeles
Times<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">JUDGE</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:PlaceName><B><FONT
face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">ORDERS</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">STATE</st1:PlaceType>: STOP KILLING DELTA FISH;
</SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Agency
told to obey law in 60 days or shut down pumps that send water to Southern
California - <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San
Francisco</st1:place></st1:City> Chronicle<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Water agency put
on notice - Contra Costa Times<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Pump ruling may
cut water to south state - Sacramento Bee<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">State has 60
days to get permits or stop pumps - Stockton
Record<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; LETTER-SPACING: -0.65pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; LETTER-SPACING: -0.65pt">Water
decision a blow to Kern farming - Bakersfield
Californian<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; LETTER-SPACING: -0.65pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
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face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Future of Delta
smelt may carry consequences - Stockton Record<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
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class=headline11><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Ruling on delta protects fish,
jeopardizes <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place> water
deliveries<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Associated Press –
3/23/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By Samantha Young, staff
writer</SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">SACRAMENTO</SPAN></FONT></st1:City></st1:place><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"> -- In a
decision that could cripple state water deliveries, a judge has ordered the
state to halt pumping water out of the delta within 60 days unless it complies
with environmental laws that protect endangered fish.<BR><BR>The ruling pleased
sport fishing groups that have long criticized the state's operation of the
enormous pumps, which suck in and kill salmon and other
fish.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"It's
certainly an earthshaking decision," Bill Jennings, executive director of the
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, said Friday. His group had sued the
state.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<TABLE class=MsoNormalTable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=right border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0pt; PADDING-LEFT: 0pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0pt; PADDING-TOP: 0pt">
<P class=MsoNormal style="mso-element: frame"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Thursday's
ruling by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch found that the state
Department of Water Resources lacks the proper permits to run a key station that
pumps water from the delta into the California Aqueduct.<BR><BR>Specifically,
Roesch said the water agency should apply for permits that would allow it to
kill spring and winter runs of salmon and Delta smelt, which are protected under
the California Endangered Species Act.<BR><BR>At issue is the Harvey O. Banks
Pumping Plant west of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Stockton</st1:place></st1:City>, which funnels 10,688 cubic feet per
second of delta water through 11 pumps into the 444-mile long aqueduct. The
heart of the State Water Project, the pumping station sucks in and kills
significant quantities of fish.<BR><BR>Water for more than 23 million
Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland passes through the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta.<BR><BR>The decision also has implications for federal water
deliveries in the <st1:place w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place>. About 5
percent of water that is part of the federal Central Valley Project flows
through the Banks pumping station.<BR><BR>"There is a coordinated operation
between the two projects. We'll have to analyze the indirect effects," said
Thomas Birmingham, general manager of the Westlands Water District, which
supplies water to about 600,000 acres of farmland in western <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Fresno</st1:place></st1:City> and Kings
counties.<BR><BR>The Department of Water Resources had argued in court that its
pumping operations were authorized by a series of agreements struck over the
past 20 years and by a 1997 state law.<BR><BR>In his 34-page ruling, Roesch said
those agreements "do not qualify as the carte-blanche authorization of
incidental take" at the plant for all species of endangered
fish.<BR><BR>Department of Water Resources spokesman Ted Thomas said the state
is expected to appeal the ruling. If that happens, pumping would continue while
the ruling is being challenged, according to the order.<BR><BR>Meanwhile, the
spotlight will shift to the California Department of Fish and Game. Under the
judge's ruling, the department would have to approve environmental permits for
the state to operate the pumps.<BR><BR>Those permits would require the state to
minimize fish kills and could lead to a change in how much water is sent through
the pumps and when much of the pumping would occur.<BR><BR>Environmentalists
have argued that the Department of Water Resources pumps too heavily during the
winter months. They say that has led to declining populations of the Delta smelt
because female fish that are sucked into the pumps die before their eggs are
fertilized.<BR><BR>The smelt, which average 3 inches long, are considered a key
indicator of the health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.<BR><BR>"This tale
is only beginning," said <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Jennings</st1:place></st1:City>, of the sportfishing alliance.
#<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/03/24/news/state/17_32_083_23_07.txt">http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/03/24/news/state/17_32_083_23_07.txt</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Deadline
set on permits for delta pumping; </SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT face=Tahoma
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Judge
threatens a halt unless the state gets permission to kill endangered fish.
Officials cite the economic effect of a
shutdown<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Los
Angeles</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:City><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">
Times – 3/24/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By
Bettina Boxall, staff writer</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">A Superior Court judge
has given the state two months to get environmental permits in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or he will shut down the massive <st1:place
w:st="on">Northern California</st1:place> pumps that kill endangered fish in the
process of supplying the Southland with much of its water.<BR><BR>State
officials vowed to fight the ruling, predicting dire consequences for the
<st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>
economy if the pumping stopped.<BR><BR>"It would be unacceptable to curtail all
deliveries to the State Water Project," said Department of Water Resources
Director Lester Snow, adding that the project supports a $300-billion share of
the state's economy.<BR><BR>"That's a lot of farm jobs, industrial jobs and
homes."<BR><BR>The delta supplies 60% of the water distributed by the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the region's major water
wholesaler.<BR><BR>Although the state will almost certainly find a way to keep
the pumps operating at some level, Thursday's ruling by Alameda County Superior
Court Judge Frank Roesch could force reductions in the flow of water to the
south.<BR><BR>It is also likely to move the state another step closer to
dramatically overhauling the way it manages water shipments between Northern and
<st1:place w:st="on">Southern California</st1:place>. <BR><BR>"There are
obviously things that are going to have to be done," said Bill Jennings,
executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, which
filed the environmental lawsuit in which the judge ruled. "It's no longer
business as usual."<BR><BR>The judge agreed with the argument by <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jennings</st1:place></st1:City>' group that the
Department of Water Resources has never gotten the necessary authorization from
the California Department of Fish and Game to kill threatened and endangered
fish at the delta's Harvey O. Banks pumping operation. The operation forms the
heart of the State Water Project that supplies urban <st1:place
w:st="on">Southern California</st1:place>.<BR><BR>The decision comes at a time
of escalating concern over the fate of the delta east of <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:City> and its
rapidly declining fish populations. <BR><BR>The tiny, native delta smelt has
sunk to record lows during the last three years, and introduced species and
native salmon are also struggling.<BR><BR>Research suggests that the pumping
operation is a leading cause of the decline in fish, if by no means the only
cause.<BR><BR>Despite an elaborate, expensive screening process, fish die at the
pumps. To keep salty <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San
Francisco</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> water away from the pumps, the project
has altered the delta's natural salinity levels. The pumps are so powerful that
they can reverse the flow of water in the channels that crisscross the
delta.<BR><BR>Changes in the pumping regimen intended to protect spawning fish
appear simply to have shifted mortality — killing smelt before they can spawn,
or killing the young.<BR><BR>Though the judge's warning does not signal an
immediate crisis for water managers, they are taking it seriously.<BR><BR>"We
see this as a strong signal by the judge," said Jeffrey Kightlinger, the water
district's general manager.<BR><BR>The court order, he said, is another sign
that "transporting water through the delta is simply not sustainable in the long
run."<BR><BR>Kightlinger said the water district could tap a large reserve if
the pumping is stopped and would not have to resort to immediate
rationing.<BR><BR>But, he said, "We'd hate to use that up."<BR><BR>Kightlinger
added, "We will be working with the state very hard to try and make sure they do
not shut the pumps." <BR><BR>The judge's ruling is the latest development in
more than a decade of environmental fights and government programs to fix the
troubled delta, a sprawling area that is <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>'s water crossroads.<BR><BR>"This is
a very important event. It really is," Barry Nelson of the Natural Resources
Defense Council said, calling the opinion a landmark.<BR><BR>State officials
learned of the decision Friday and in a hastily called news conference said they
would ask the judge to give them more time to meet his demands.<BR><BR>They also
disputed the judge's finding that they had never obtained the proper
authorizations to kill fish under the state Endangered Species Act.
#<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-water24mar24,1,5930407.story?coll=la-headlines-california">http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-water24mar24,1,5930407.story?coll=la-headlines-california</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">JUDGE</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:PlaceName><B><FONT
face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">ORDERS</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">STATE</st1:PlaceType>: STOP KILLING DELTA FISH;
</SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Agency
told to obey law in 60 days or shut down pumps that send water to <st1:place
w:st="on">Southern California</st1:place><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">San
Francisco Chronicle – 3/24/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By
Glen Martin, staff writer</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The pumps
that send water to 24 million Californians illegally kill endangered and
threatened fish species and must be shut down, an <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Alameda</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> judge has decided.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
judge's draft decision, released Friday, is far-reaching in scope, but nobody
expects immediate rationing in the areas that receive the water -- the
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">East</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType>, the <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">South</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType> and
<st1:place w:st="on">Southern California</st1:place>. Judge Frank Roesch gave
the state 60 days to figure out a way to comply with the law.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Ultimately,
the state Department of Water Resources could be forced to radically change the
way it allocates water via a complicated set of canals and reservoirs known as
the State Water Project. Changes could mean more water for the beleaguered
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and less for municipalities and <st1:place
w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place> farms. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
decision further undercuts the faltering consensus approach that has guided
state water politics during the past decade, and it harks back to the 1970s and
1980s, when acrimony and litigation prevailed. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Consequences
of changing State Water Project operations are huge: The system is a major
source of water for cities like <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Los
Angeles</st1:City></st1:place> and irrigates 775,000 acres of cropland. State
officials say it is also directly responsible for a $300 billion portion of the
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>
economy. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">At a
minimum, complying with the judge's decision will force the state water agency
to obtain a permit from the California Department of Fish and Game allowing the
"incidental" killing of delta smelt and chinook salmon at the Harvey O. Banks
Pumping Plant near Tracy as well as to develop a plan to aid in the recovery of
the protected fish. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Roesch's
ruling was in response to a 2006 lawsuit over the killing of the fish. The suit
was filed by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance against the
California Resources Agency, which oversees the Department of Water Resources
and the State Water Project. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Officials
have two weeks to provide more information, after which Roesch can either modify
or maintain his order. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"This was
a bell ringer," said Bill Jennings, the executive director of the <st1:City
w:st="on">Alliance</st1:City>, a confederation of anglers based in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Stockton</st1:City></st1:place>.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"We have a
real likelihood now that the delta will receive more water," he said.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Jennings</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:City><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"> said that
the Water Resources Department ignored the California Endangered Species Act and
state Fish and Game codes in operating its pumps, which have ground up large
numbers of fish. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
state's pumping station can transport 10,300 cubic feet of water a second,
equivalent to a large river. The nearby pumps that sustain the federal Central
Valley Project are much smaller, with a capacity of about 4,600 cfs. The Central
Valley Project is not affected by Roesch's decision.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The Water
Resources Department maintained it was given a pass on state laws by virtue of
five agreements concluded in the 1990s, including two negotiated by CalFed, the
joint state and federal agency created to solve <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>'s water disputes.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Roesch
ruled that the agreements did not constitute a permit to kill the salmon and
smelt, as the state contended. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The best
that can be said of the five agreements, Roesch wrote, "is that (they) accept
fish will be killed in the Henry O. Banks Pumping Plant operations and that the
parties agree that mitigation measures will be undertaken."
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">State
officials expressed dismay at the decision. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"We
obviously strongly disagree with the court's proposed decision and will present
additional information to challenge (it)," state Resources Secretary Mike
Chrisman said. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Ryan
Broddrick, the director of the California Department of Fish and Game, said
conservation strategies of the kind Roesch requires are complicated and
time-consuming. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"We want
to find solutions for the delta that have long-term sustainability," Broddrick
said. "The (60-day) time frame offered is not sufficient."
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Lester
Snow, the director of the Water Resources Department and the former director of
CalFed, agreed with Broddrick and noted that the state recently authorized a $1
billion delta habitat conservation plan. Such a comprehensive and well-funded
effort, Snow said, is preferable to fighting the matter out in court.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"(Roesch's)
response is devoid of any recognition of this conservation plan," he said.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Snow also
said that the consequences of curtailing <st1:place w:st="on">Southern
California</st1:place> water deliveries would be unacceptable.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"The
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>
gross product is $1.6 trillion," he said. "Of that, the State Water Project
directly supports $300 billion. That's a lot of farm and industrial jobs."
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Water
contractors also are concerned. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"We get 80
percent of our water from the state project, so we find this very worrisome,"
said Jill Duerig, the general manager of the Zone 7 Water Agency, which serves
the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">East</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType> cities of <st1:City
w:st="on">Pleasanton</st1:City>, <st1:City w:st="on">Dublin</st1:City> and
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Livermore</st1:place></st1:City>.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"It
highlights the uncertainty and risks we face in securing our drinking water
supplies," she said. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">But
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jennings</st1:place></st1:City> said
Roesch's decision "blew away the smoke screen" that obscured many delta problems
and underscored the general failure of CalFed. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"Under
CalFed, water exports from the delta have increased, and we've seen the general
collapse of the region's ecosystem," he said. "It became clear to anglers that
if we were going to have any fish left in the delta, we were going to have to
step away from the backroom deals and hold the agencies accountable to the law."
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
State Water Project <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">A look at
major components of the system: </SPAN></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">By the
numbers <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">24 million
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Number of
Californians who get drinking water from the project
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">775,000
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Acres of
crops irrigated <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">29
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Number of
agencies served by the water system <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">1957
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Year
construction began on the first part of the State Water Project
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">4 million
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Amount of
water, in acre-feet, that the system can deliver in wet years
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">5.8
million <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Amount of
water, in acre-feet, that can be stored in the State Water Project
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">444
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Length, in
miles, of the California Aqueduct <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Southern
California</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place><B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Water is
transported around Southern California and stored in many lakes, including
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Castaic</st1:PlaceName> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Pyramid</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. </SPAN></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Banks
pumps <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Near
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Tracy</st1:City></st1:place>, the
state-operated pumps send water down the California Aqueduct.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
pumping operations are blamed for killing endangered and threatened fish. Near
here, a separate canal delivers some of the water to the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">South</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on"><B><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Lake</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:PlaceType><B><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">
<st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Oroville</st1:PlaceName></SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place><B><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">One of the
largest dams that make up the State Water Project. It holds about 3.5 million
acre-feet of <st1:place w:st="on">Feather River</st1:place> water.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Sacramento
River</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Supports
weak migrations of winter- and spring-run chinook salmon, which are protected
under state and federal law. Water from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Oroville</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> eventually runs down this river.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">San
Luis Joint-Use Complex <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Both
federal and state water operators use this facility, which stores water for
users located further south. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Tehachapi
pipes <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
Edmonston Pumping Plant lifts water up about 2,000 feet, over the <st1:place
w:st="on">Tehachapi Mountains</st1:place>, through 10 miles of tunnels.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
Chronicle <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Declining
delta smelt <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">A small
native fish long used as an indicator of the delta's biological health, the
delta smelt has sustained steady declines over the past several years. Fresh
water diversions from the delta to <st1:place w:st="on">Southern
California</st1:place> appear to be the leading cause, with smelt populations
declining in general proportion to the amount of water shipped south.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Smelt need
brackish water to survive, and the brackish zone in the delta is decreased when
fresh water is exported. The government pumps have also been implicated in
directly destroying smelt by sucking them into their intakes.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Breeding
season: </SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">From late
winter to early summer. Fast growing, with majority of growth within the first 7
to 9 months of life. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Food:</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"> Small
organisms called zooplankton Life span: 1-2 years <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Status:</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">
Threatened <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Size:</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"> 2-3
inches, but can reach 5 inches <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Habitat:</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"> Brackish
waters in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#053c63 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #053c63; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/24/MNGCROR6P21.DTL">http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/24/MNGCROR6P21.DTL</A></SPAN></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Water agency put
on notice<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Contra Costa
Times – 3/24/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By Mike Taugher,
staff writer</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The state's
largest water delivery system, serving millions of people from the Tri-Valley to
<st1:place w:st="on">Southern California</st1:place>, must shut down in 60 days
unless its officials comply with the state's endangered species law, a judge
ruled.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
decision, which sent shock waves through water agencies up and down <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State> on Friday,
says state water officials failed to obtain a state permit to kill threatened or
endangered salmon and Delta smelt.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Alameda
County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled that the Department of Water
Resources was violating the California Endangered Species Act but said he would
delay turning off the pumps for 60 days to allow state agencies to comply. The
ruling also said the 60-day clock will not start ticking until it becomes final
after a 15-day comment period.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">State
officials said they would ask the judge to reconsider, arguing that they are
trying to develop a long-term conservation strategy, and shutting off the pumps
would deal a devastating economic blow.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"I don't
think it's possible to comply with what the judge says in 60 days," said water
Resources director Lester Snow.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Most major
water agencies have sufficient backup supplies to get them through a short
pumping shutdown. However, if the permit required by the court's decision
further restricts pumping, it could reduce the amount of water those agencies
get in the long term.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">At issue
are massive pumps that supply water to more than 23 million people in
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Alameda</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType>, Silicon Valley and <st1:place
w:st="on">Southern California</st1:place>. The pumps are powerful enough to
alter the flow of rivers, disrupt fish movements and kill millions of fish each
year.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Among those
fish are species such as Delta smelt, winter-run salmon and spring-run salmon
that are protected under state and federal endangered species laws. The pumping
plant has a permit from the federal government to harm endangered fish, but not
from the state.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Environmentalists say a
state permit might force water supply cuts because the state law is more
stringent than the federal law.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The ruling
does not affect smaller federal pumps that serve <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.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Stan
Williams, chief executive officer of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, said
groundwater and access to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San
Francisco</st1:City></st1:place>'s Hetch Hetchy aqueducts would provide
short-term backup water supplies but a prolonged shutdown could cause
problems.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">He added
that he views the threat of a shutdown as
plausible.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"I think
it's real," Williams said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The general
manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the state
water pumps' biggest customer, said he was disappointed in the ruling but added
that emergency water reserves can meet the summer needs of its 18 million
customers.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"What we
need from Fish and Game is their best analysis of what they can do in 60 days
and then see if that will satisfy the court," said Met general manager Jeff
Kightlinger. "We're working rapidly on our contingency
planning."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Environmentalists,
meanwhile, were elated.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"It's a
mind-buster. I'm stunned," said Bill Jennings, executive director of the
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, which filed the lawsuit last
year.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The ruling
comes at a time of deepening disarray in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place> water policy. The state's major
water source -- the Delta -- is laboring five years into an ecosystem collapse
that many scientists say is at least partly due to the water
pumps.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The failure
of state water officials to obtain a permit for the pumps was uncovered in 2005
by a state senate committee.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">That
committee's investigation was in response to a report in the Times showing that
in early 2005, just as the severity of the Delta's ecosystem crisis was becoming
apparent, state and federal water officials twice overruled the advice of
biologists appointed to enforce the federal endangered species
law.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">State water
officials argued that even though they lacked a formal permit, a series of
agreements and other documents dating back to the 1980s formed a "patchwork" of
compliance with the law.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The judge
strongly disagreed, saying the documents "do not qualify as carte-blanche
authorization" to kill or harm endangered fish.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Michael
Lozeau, the lawyer who represented environmentalists in the lawsuit, said the
state endangered species law is stricter than the federal
version.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Under state
law, the water resources department would have to offset the death of every
protected fish, possibly by dramatically reducing pumping or improving habitat
elsewhere in the Delta, Lozeau said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"They have
to replace every single fish," Lozeau said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Jennings</SPAN></FONT></st1:City></st1:place><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"> said that opens the
door to force the state water department to make up for years of illegal
operations.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"When you
catch the embezzler, what do you do? You make them pay it back," <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jennings</st1:place></st1:City> said.
#<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/16966833.htm">http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/16966833.htm</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Pump ruling may
cut water to south state<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Sacramento</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:City><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"> Bee –
3/24/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By Deb Kollars,
staff writer</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#053c63 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #053c63; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">An Alameda Superior Court judge has ruled that giant
pumps sending vast amounts of drinking water to Central and Southern California
must be turned off within 60 days unless the state complies with permit
procedures designed to protect endangered fish, which are getting chewed up by
the pumps.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Turning off the pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta would cause drastic economic and environmental consequences, ranging from
possible groundwater depletion to business interruptions, said Lester Snow,
director of the state Department of Water
Resources.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"It's certainly an earth-shaking decision," said Bill
Jennings, executive director of the nonprofit California Sportfishing Protection
Alliance, which sued the state over the killing of fish in the
pumps.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">About 25 million Californians depend on the State Water
Project, as the north-south water-moving system is called, for at least a
portion of their water needs.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California,
for example, is the state project's biggest customer, serving 18 million people;
during normal water years, the district gets 16 percent of its overall water
supply via the gigantic state delivery system.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Snow said Friday that he plans to bring new information
to the judge in the case, Frank Roesch, and ask him to reconsider the ruling
during the 15-day period before the decision becomes
final.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"We strongly disagree with the decision," California
Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman said during a Friday afternoon telephone press
briefing.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The Department of Water Resources was sued in October by
the "Water Enforcers," the legal arm of the California Sportfishing Protection
Alliance. The fishing group said the agency never obtained the proper
authorizations, known as "take permits," to kill certain fish while pumping
water from the north state to the Bay Area, Central Coast, San Joaquin Valley
and Southern California.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The suit named three fish species: the endangered
winter-run chinook salmon, the threatened spring-run chinook and the Delta
smelt.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The pumping site in the case, Harvey O. Banks Pumping
Plant, is west of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Stockton</st1:City></st1:place> near Byron. The plant, considered the
heart of the State Water Project, runs 10,688 cubic feet per second of Delta
water through multiple pumps and into the California Aqueduct system. In the
process, many fish are sucked in and killed.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">On Thursday, Roesch agreed with the fishing group,
ruling that DWR had failed to follow the permitting process required under the
California Endangered Species Act. The permits are issued by the state
Department of Fish and Game.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The judge rejected an argument by DWR officials that
they did not need the formal take permits because the department had authority
to kill fish during water exports under several other pumping agreements made
prior to 1997.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The agreements, the judge wrote in his ruling, "do not
qualify as the carte-blanche authorization of incidental take" of endangered
fish at the pumping plant.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Water resources officials reviewed the judge's opinion
Friday and announced they will ask the judge to reconsider. Department spokesman
Ted Thomas said the state is expected to appeal the
ruling.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Jennings</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:City><FONT
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"> said there is an easier fix for
the state than trying to re-argue the case before the same judge or appealing:
Apply for the proper permits, which would lay out the measures needed, such as
reducing pumping volumes or installing different fish screens, to reduce the
fish kills.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"The political reality is that nobody is going to
deprive the folks of Southern California their water," <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Jennings</st1:City></st1:place> said. "It would
behoove the state to start working on a permit and following the
law."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Snow said it would not be possible to get such a permit
within 60 days.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Jennings</SPAN></FONT></st1:City></st1:place><FONT
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"> pointed out that the state would
have 75 days if it got going immediately, before the 15-day grace period on the
judge's ruling runs out, and that would be plenty of
time.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"We have gone through a decade where the state has
basically done nothing," <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Jennings</st1:City></st1:place> said. "They twiddled their thumbs and
gazed at the ceiling."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Snow said that rather than going through the narrow
permitting process, the state instead has chosen to develop a broad new
conservation plan for the Delta that would address numerous habitat and
environmental issues in a more comprehensive
manner.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">This week's ruling, he said, highlights the dire
situation in the Delta, where environmentalists and state and local officials
are grappling with everything from crumbling levees to rapid losses in the Delta
smelt population.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Neither side could say Friday how many salmon are being
killed in the pumps. #<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#053c63 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #053c63; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/143329.html">http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/143329.html</A></SPAN></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#053c63 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #053c63; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#053c63 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #053c63; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">State has 60
days to get permits or stop pumps<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Stockton</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:City><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"> Record –
3/24/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By Alex
Breitler, staff writer</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#053c63 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #053c63; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#053c63 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #053c63; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">TRACY</SPAN></FONT></st1:City></st1:place><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"> - State
officials have 60 days to avert a legally imposed shutdown of their massive
export pumps, which kill threatened fish but also support a $300 billion
economy.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">A judge's
ruling released Friday says the Department of Water Resources has been
incidentally killing fish at the pumps without proper environmental permits, in
violation of state law.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The state
must shut down the pumps near <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Tracy</st1:place></st1:City> if it cannot get the needed permits in
time.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"Potentially,
this is a huge victory," said <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Stockton</st1:City></st1:place> environmentalist Bill Jennings, whose
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance sued the state last year. "This is
just the opening chapter of a new book."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">State
officials Friday afternoon said there's no way to get the needed permits in 60
days.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"We're
perplexed with the court's ruling in this case," said Lester Snow, head of the
Department of Water Resources. "We find the prospect of curtailment of pumping
to be unacceptable."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Snow said
the state has 15 days to comment on the ruling by Alameda County Superior Court
Judge Frank Roesch and ask for more time to comply.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">A shutdown
of the pumps is unlikely, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Jennings</st1:City></st1:place> said. However, getting a permit under
state law to kill fish such as Delta smelt and salmon would require officials to
find new ways to make up for that loss. That could include reducing exports or
changing the timing of water deliveries to aid
fish.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">State Sen.
Michael Machado, D-Linden, said it was no mystery to <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> residents that the pumps are
operated without the proper permits. State officials have claimed that a series
of agreements up to two decades old were tantamount to having such a
permit.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"What this
goes to show is that the ecosystem of the Delta is important and the state needs
to follow its own laws," Machado said Friday.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">No one
disputes that the pumps are important. Eighteen million people in Southern
California receive water imported from two major sources: the Colorado River and
<st1:place w:st="on">Northern
California</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Drought on
the <st1:State w:st="on">Colorado</st1:State> has increased reliance on the
<st1:place w:st="on">Northern California</st1:place> flows, said Jeff
Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"This is a
very serious issue," he said Friday. "We're hopeful we can work with the state
to get it resolved over the next 60 days and not go through dramatic
interruptions."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
district has "tremendous" amounts of water in storage, but that's reserved for
emergencies and could last only a year or two, Kightlinger
said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">State
water is also delivered to the Bay Area, cities and farms in the southern
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType> and parts of the coast near <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Luis
Obispo</st1:place></st1:City>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Altogether,
the pumps support $300 billion of the state's $1.6 trillion economy, said the
state's Snow.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The pumps
also draw in threatened Delta smelt, which conservationists say are on the brink
of extinction. They also harm juvenile salmon.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"They have
to come up with near-term and long-term measures" to protect fish, <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Jennings</st1:City></st1:place> said. "And we're
going to be looking over their shoulder." #<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#053c63 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #053c63; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070324/A_NEWS/703240321">http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070324/A_NEWS/703240321</A></SPAN></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; LETTER-SPACING: -0.65pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; LETTER-SPACING: -0.65pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; LETTER-SPACING: -0.65pt">Water
decision a blow to Kern farming<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; LETTER-SPACING: -0.65pt">Bakersfield</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:City><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; LETTER-SPACING: -0.65pt">
Californian – 3/23/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; LETTER-SPACING: -0.65pt">By
Vic Pollard, staff writer</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; LETTER-SPACING: -0.65pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#053c63 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #053c63; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Like other customers of
the State Water Project, Kern County Water Agency officials were stunned by the
judge’s action. “This is big,” said David Baumstark, the agency’s executive
operations manager. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">He said late Friday
afternoon the agency had little time to review the proposed decision and had no
plan of action yet.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">However, a sudden
shutdown in May of the California Aqueduct, which brings state project water to
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Kern</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType>, would be a major financial blow to the
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Kern</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> farming industry at
the height of the irrigation season.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">It wouldn’t be the end
of the world, Baumstark said, because <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Kern</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType>
has huge amounts of water stored underground in the Kern Water Bank area west of
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bakersfield</st1:place></st1:City> and
other places.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">But groundwater is more
expensive to use for irrigation than water from the aqueduct because of the
costs of pumping it out of the ground.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Baumstark said the State
Water Project accounts for about 21 percent of all the water used in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Kern</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. The other major sources are the
Kern River; the Central Valley Project, which brings water from the
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType> near <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Fresno</st1:place></st1:City>; and groundwater.
#<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#053c63 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #053c63; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/106987.html">http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/106987.html</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#053c63 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #053c63; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Future of Delta
smelt may carry consequences<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Stockton</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:City><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"> Record –
3/25/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By Alex
Breitler, staff writer</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#053c63 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #053c63; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">TRACY</SPAN></FONT></st1:City></st1:place><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"> - The
pumps are the size of school buses.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Delta
smelt match up with your goldfish.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The pumps
are worth $300 billion for the economy.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The smelt
aren't worth the bait in a fisherman's tackle box.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The pumps
water crops for your garden salad.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The smelt
simply smell like cucumber.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Last week,
a judge ruled that immense pumps near <st1:City w:st="on">Tracy</st1:City> must
be shut down unless officials get a permit allowing them to kill smelt and other
fish in the process of sending water to distant reaches of <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The case
puts the smelt back in the headlines. It is in danger of extinction,
conservationists say, and no fewer than 45 studies are chronicling the
problem.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">And yet,
when you ask your neighbor about the Delta smelt, he might wrinkle his nose and
say something like, "Yeah, it DOES smell out
there."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Why should
ordinary people care, or even know, about this rather ordinary
fish?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Sign of trouble<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H2>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#043d63
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #043d63"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H2>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The first
thing most experts say is that the smelt is an "indicator" species. It tells us
how the Delta is doing.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">If the
smelt is suffering, so may be a number of other species which have more purpose
to humans - striped bass, for example, a popular sport
fish.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Among
other things, the smelt suffers from a declining supply of its major food
source, plankton. Exotic clams introduced into the estuary two decades ago have
robbed the water of much of these nutrients.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Then there
are toxins: anything from herbicides that drain off of farmers' fields to drugs
that people pour down their drains at home. These kill the food that smelt and
other fish need.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Keep in
mind, this is the same water that wets the taps of 23 million Californians.
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Stockton</st1:City></st1:place>, too,
plans to quench its thirst with Delta water in coming
years.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Endangered<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H2>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#043d63
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #043d63"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H2>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The smelt
is legally protected from these dangers by a law that has aided more glamorous
specimens such as the bald eagle.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"We made a
decision with the Endangered Species Act, saying we didn't want any species to
go extinct, at least on our watch," said Peter Moyle, professor of fish biology
at the <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">California</st1:PlaceName>, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Davis</st1:City></st1:place>. "It becomes a question of where do you
draw the line in terms of what you're going to let go and what you're
not."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">There are
about 35,000 smelt left, according to some estimates, compared to 800,000 in the
1960s and '70s.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">If the
smelt disappears, a fish called the split-tail could be next, Moyle said. Unlike
smelt, the split-tail is a dietary staple for Asian-Americans, including many in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Stockton</st1:City></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">On the
other hand, if the smelt is recovered, maybe it could produce a commercial
fishery someday not unlike its Japanese cousin, the
wakasagi.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"You never
know what's going to be important to future generations," Moyle
said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Money, money, money<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H2>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#043d63
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #043d63"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H2>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">A recent
California Department of Water Resources report updating the smelt's status
catalogues dozens of strategies to bring back the
fish.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Most
projects rely on public dollars; the total cost is
unknown.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">As an
example, experts want to construct mile-long floodways on <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Sherman</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Island</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> to increase production of the
plankton that smelt need. The cost could range from $5.5 million to $8.2
million.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">There also
is talk of requiring the state to check all watercraft that enter <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place> through major
highways, a practice that was discontinued in 2003 because of budget cuts. This
could detect the presence of invasive mussels which, if released, could further
exacerbate problems in the Delta.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The cost:
Up to $4 million per year, and perhaps a headache for those whose boats are
inspected.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The pumps<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H2>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#043d63
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #043d63"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H2>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Theoretically,
anyone who gets water from the pumps could benefit if the smelt recovers. It's
not just <st1:City w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:City> - parts of the Bay Area,
much of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San
Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> and the coast may not have to worry
so much about the pumps shutting down.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Conversely,
if smelt continue to struggle, farmers might face new restrictions on pesticide
use, possibly making land less productive and losing income, state reports warn.
Cities might pay more to reduce the number of contaminants they
discharge.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Debate
continues over the pumps themselves and how many fish they chop
up.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Unknowns<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H2>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#043d63
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #043d63"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H2>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">In the
late 1990s, scientists discovered that the common western fence lizard may help
prevent the spread of Lyme disease. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Infected
ticks that feed on the lizard's blood are then less likely to infect
humans.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">This,
conservationists say, is an example why the smelt and other less-interesting
critters should be spared extinction.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">They may
yet serve a purpose.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"There's a
lot we don't know," said Jeff Miller of the San Francisco-based Center for
Biological Diversity, which has lobbied the government for greater smelt
protections. "To lose a species before you even understand it is
tragic."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Why should you care about
smelt?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H2>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">1. The
fish is an “indicator” species. Their situation offers insight into how the San
Joaquin Delta as a whole is faring.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">2. As an
endangered species, the smelt’s future is important to others creatures in the
same boat. If the smelt don’t make it, what’s next?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">3.
Proposals to save the fish can carry with them million-dollar price tags that
would likely require public funding. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">4.
Recovery of the smelt could provide benefits to anyone who gets water from the
pumps in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tracy</st1:place></st1:City>.
Conversely, its continued struggle could carry negative effects for <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">S.J.</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
farmers.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">5. Besides
known benefits, creatures can be beneficial in many yet-undiscovered ways. If
the animal disappears, any benefits it <BR>might have held will be lost forever.
#<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070325/A_NEWS/703250331">http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070325/A_NEWS/703250331</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">####<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>