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<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=barbara@restorethedelta.org
href="mailto:barbara@restorethedelta.org">Barbara Parrilla</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=Barbara@restorethedelta.org
href="mailto:Barbara@restorethedelta.org">Barbara@restorethedelta.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Friday, January 18, 2008 12:45 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Delta Flows -- Weekly Highlight from Restore the Delta for
the Week of January 15, 2008</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=5><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 18pt; COLOR: #111111">Delta Flows – Weekly
Highlights from Restore the Delta for the Week of January 15,
2008<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #111111"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #111111; FONT-STYLE: italic">“Neither a borrower,
nor a lender be; for loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls
the edge of husbandry.</SPAN></FONT></I><FONT color=#111111 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #111111">”
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #111111">
--<I><SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Hamlet, </SPAN></I>William
Shakespeare<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=5><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 18pt; COLOR: #111111"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #111111">Audit Shows that
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Peripheral</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Canal</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> Supporters Have
Failed to Pay For Previous Water Projects<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #111111"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #111111">R</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT
color=#111111><SPAN style="COLOR: #111111">estore the Delta staff, comprised
primarily of environmental and community concern activists, finds it quite
interesting that we are commenting over two consecutive weeks on debt and
finances as it relates to water management in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>. However, we are exasperated
by the history of money spent, unpaid debt, and potential for additional
financial recklessness, in terms of acquired debt, that goes hand-in-hand with
the steady ecological decline of the California Delta.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #111111"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #111111">While word has it that presently
business proponents of a water bond including the peripheral canal will not be
pursuing this endeavor through the initiative process, Restore the Delta has
learned that the Delta’s future will be on this year’s legislative agenda.
We will keep you informed as proposed legislation becomes
known.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #111111"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #111111">For years, many Californians have
ignored the environmental degradation of the Delta. Perhaps, a closer look
at loans, debt, and taxpayer responsibility, will prompt voters to rethink how
proposed public funds could be best spent for Delta restoration.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #111111"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #111111">The articles posted below from today’s
<I><SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Contra Costa Times</SPAN></I> and <I><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Fresno Bee</SPAN></I> best sum up the past.
Those water districts which have driven excessive Delta water exports – all to
the detriment of Delta fisheries, farming, and recreation – and who are now
behind the proposed plan for the peripheral canal, are the same groups who have
not repaid what they owe for the dams and canals built forty years ago.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #111111"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #111111">Why do some political leaders and agency
officials let these same water users drive the shaping of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>’s water policy
in the present? When will these same leaders begin to protect the Delta’s
environmental needs, part of the public trust, with the same vigor that they
defend water exporters? When will water conservation, the most cost
effective and environmentally friendly means for protecting our water supply,
become the driving force behind <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>’s water
policy?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #111111"><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">Irrigation
district owes millions, report finds<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">Contra
Costa Times – 1/18/08<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
Mike Taugher, staff writer</SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><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">Forty years after it started farming the
west <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, the nation's
largest irrigation district -- and one of the richest -- has repaid only 15
percent of what it owes taxpayers for a massive water delivery project,
according to a congressional watchdog agency. <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"><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">The U.S. Government Accountability Office,
in its first update in a decade on the debt repayment status of the Westlands
Water District and several smaller irrigation districts, concluded Westlands
still owes $372 million, the bulk of the $449 million owed by the districts. The
debt, which dates to the late 1960s, carries no interest.
<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"><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">"If they were homeowners, they would be
foreclosed on," said Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, one of three lawmakers who
requested the report. <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"><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">The report was commissioned to help
lawmakers evaluate a proposal from Westlands and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
that would turn ownership of pieces of the Central Valley Project over to the
water district and forgive the debt. In exchange, Westlands would develop its
own drainage disposal plan and relieve the federal government of its obligation
to drain irrigation water from the region. <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"><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">Miller said the GAO report showed the
exchange, the details of which are still in flux, would probably be a bad deal
for taxpayers. <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"><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">"They want more forgiveness from
taxpayers," Miller said. "It's a flat-out abuse of the taxpayer."
<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"><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">A layer of clay that underlies most of the
Westlands district inhibits drainage and causes polluted water to build up,
potentially into the root zones of crops. Before the district's drain was
plugged in the 1980s, the polluted water emptied into the Keterson National
Wildlife Refuge, causing a wildlife disaster of deformities and deaths in birds.
<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"><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">Without a place to dispose of its
drainage, Westlands sued and in 2000 won a court order that requires the federal
government to fix the problem. <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"><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">The reclamation bureau has estimated the
cost of draining the land at $2.7 billion, which is why Westlands has said the
exchange would be a good deal for taxpayers: the government would not have to
build the expensive 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"> <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">But if the government does have to deal
with the drainage problem, Westlands would have to repay that $2.7 billion, or
at least a substantial portion of it, although it might be under terms highly
favorable to the water district. <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"><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">Frustrated by Westlands' slow repayment of
the original debt, Congress in 1986 passed a law that set a 2030 deadline for
Westlands and the other, smaller, west <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> irrigation districts to repay.
<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"><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">But 22 years after that law was passed --
and 22 years before 2030 -- Westlands still has repaid just 15 percent of the
total. <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"><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">Westlands and the reclamation bureau say
the 2030 deadline to repay the interest-free loan could be met with a balloon
payment or with some other financing plan. <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"><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">"There are reserves in Westlands to pay
that," said district spokeswoman Sarah Woolf. <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"><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">U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Jeff
McCracken said the details of debt repayment fall to Westlands.
<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"><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">"How they do that is really up to them,"
McCracken said. "They are meeting their contractual obligations and they have
until 2030 to repay the capital costs." <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"><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">The districts' debt is for their share of
the San Luis Unit, the last piece of the massive Central Valley Project, a
sprawling water delivery system that began with construction of a canal from the
Delta to the Contra Costa Water District in the late 1930s and 1940s.
<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"><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">The amounts owed by Westlands and the
smaller San Luis districts are the irrigation districts' share to build San Luis
Dam, a major canal, water distribution works, pump plants and other facilities.
<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"><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">Under a separate repayment contract,
Westlands has repaid $131 million of the $179 million cost of building the water
distribution system within the district, the GAO reported.
#<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><A
title=http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_8007925?nclick_check=1
href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_8007925?nclick_check=1">http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_8007925?nclick_check=1</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Valley
growers owe $497m for water projects, audit
shows<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Fresno</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:City></st1:place><B><FONT
face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">
Bee – 1/18/08<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By
Michael Doyle, Bee <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">Washington</st1:State></st1:place> Bureau</SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><st1:State w:st="on"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">WASHINGTON</SPAN></FONT></st1:State><FONT
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"> --
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType> farmers still owe the federal government almost
$500 million for dams and canals built in the 1960s, according to a new audit
that will help frame the next round of decisions about <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place> water.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">Farmers in the
giant Westlands Water District and three other smaller irrigation districts
south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta owe $497 million, the Government
Accountability Office found. The money must be paid by 2030.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">It's no surprise
that the farmers owe money. They've been gradually paying it back as part of
their long-term water contracts with the federal Bureau of Reclamation.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">The dollar
amount, though, draws attention on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are considering
expensive proposals such as restoring the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> and cleaning up irrigation drainage.
The proposals address problems spawned by the construction of dams and canals.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">On the Valley's
west side, a lack of natural drainage allowed irrigation water to accumulate,
creating concentrations of dangerous elements leached from soil.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">"Taxpayers paid
for these water projects decades ago, taxpayers paid for the cleanup of some of
the projects' worst environmental consequences over the years, and now the
taxpayers are still waiting to be repaid," said Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">Miller is the
former chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and a longtime critic
of <st1:place w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place> irrigation contracts. He
helped request the GAO study, the latest in a long line of related audits.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">In 1992, Miller
used earlier GAO audits in his campaign to direct more <st1:place
w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place> water to environmental protection. Miller
sought the latest audit to shape the debate over irrigation drainage problems on
the Valley's west side. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">"Drainage is
needed ... because a layer of clay prevents natural drainage, trapping salt and
water in the root zones of crops and reducing the region's agricultural
productivity," the GAO report issued Thursday stated.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">The Bureau of
Reclamation estimates one drainage option would cost the government $2.7
billion, for a combination of land retirements, evaporation ponds and soil
treatments. A second option would transfer responsibility to the water
districts. They would fund the drainage solutions in exchange for having their
construction debt forgiven. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">Water district
officials and state and federal representatives have been meeting to discuss
irrigation drainage options, but no solution appears to be imminent. Westlands
representatives could not be reached to comment Thursday.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">All told, the new
audit notes, the federal government spent about $3.4 billion on the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Redding-to-Bakersfield</st1:City></st1:place>
system of dams and canals known as the Central Valley Project. The CVP's San
Luis Unit serves the Westlands, Pacheco, Panoche and San Luis water districts,
which stretch as far north as <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Merced</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">A separate
proposal has been made to restore water flows and salmon population to the
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> below Friant Dam. The
dam, which is not part of the San Luis Unit, is blamed for drying up the
once-teeming river. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">Though the
irrigation drainage problems primarily affect the Valley's west side and the
river restoration primarily affects the east side, taken together they
illustrate the scope of the water problems facing the region.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">On Thursday,
reflecting the ongoing river struggle, Friant Water Users Authority Chairman
Kole Upton said he would not run for re-election. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Upton</st1:City></st1:place> once praised the river restoration deal
reached with environmental groups, but he now believes it could harm farmers by
taking away too much irrigation water. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">"This 'Neville
Chamberlain' strategy of capitulation and surrender will doom the Friant service
area to 20 years of hardship and involuntary land retirement," <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Upton</st1:City></st1:place> wrote Thursday in a
message to other water officials. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">Democratic Rep.
Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and other Friant-area water district directors contend the
river settlement is the best long-term solution, offering certainty for both
fish and farmers. #<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><A title=http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/332338.html
href="http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/332338.html">http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/332338.html</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">####<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Barbara
Barrigan-Parrilla</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Campaign
Director</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Restore the
Delta</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Making the Delta fishable,
swimmable, drinkable, and farmable by 2010!</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><A
href="mailto:Barbara@restorethedelta.org">Barbara@restorethedelta.org</A></SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><A
href="http://www.restorethedelta.org">www.restorethedelta.org</A></SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">ph:
209-479-2053</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on"><FONT face=Arial
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">PO
Box</SPAN></FONT></st1:Street><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
691088</SPAN></FONT></st1:address><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><FONT face=Arial
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Stockton</SPAN></FONT></st1:City><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">, <st1:State
w:st="on">CA</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode
w:st="on">95269</st1:PostalCode></SPAN></FONT></st1:place><o:p></o:p></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>