<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16640" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><BR></FONT><!-- END TEXT HIGHLIGHTS --><!-- BEGIN CONTAINER TABLE (NAV LINKS/MAIN TABLE/SECONDARY MESSAGE -->
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=682 bgColor=#ffffff border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD height=2></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD><!-- BEGIN MAIN TABLES -->
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=682 align=center bgColor=#ffffff
border=0 valign="top">
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD><IMG title="The Planning and Conservation League" height=142
alt="The Planning and Conservation League" hspace=2
src="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5056/images/pcl_letterhead_logo_breaking_news.jpg"
width=678 border=0><BR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=678 align=center bgColor=#ffffe5
border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD align=left>
<DIV
style="FONT-SIZE: 13px; MARGIN: 0px 22px 32px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; align: left"><BR><!-- TemplateBeginEditable name="content" -->
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt">NEWS
RELEASE</SPAN></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE<SPAN> Contact: <A
href="mailto:mmcintyre@pcl.org">Mindy McIntyre</A>, </SPAN>916
541-8825</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">June 5, 2008</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt">Planning and
Conservation League Issues Statement on California Supreme Court Bay
Delta Decision</SPAN></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">(SACRAMENTO) - The Planning and Conservation
League, a leading statewide conservation advocacy coalition, today
issued the following statement from Mindy McIntyre, Water Program
Manager regarding the <A
href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=wMnYSlKVPZ5CIiqVnvBeJIi5a08LD%2B1v">California
Supreme Court decision validating the CALFED Environmental Impact
Report (EIR)</A>. Environmental and farming groups challenged the
2000 CALFED EIR based on the failure of water agencies to examine
reduced water exports from the Delta. </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">"Today's decision is a blow to the crumbling
Delta ecosystem. The decision is a result of the limited scope of
information considered by the Court which excluded recent scientific
evidence documenting the dramatic decline in Delta health related to
increasing water diversions. As a result, today's decision
condones business-as-usual management practices, which have created
the Delta crisis in the first place. </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">"Today's unfortunate decision relied on the
out-dated information on the health of the Bay Delta and the
relationship to water exports that was available in 2000. The Court
specifically excluded consideration of scientific findings developed
since 2000 that demonstrate the link between increased exports and
declining fish populations. The legacy of CALFED clearly
demonstrates that increased water exports without regard for the
environment produces disaster for both the environment and water
supply reliability. We must build on what we have learned from that
experience and move forward with new Delta management and water
policies that avoid disasters such as the current water
crisis." </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">"In
the eight years since the CALFED EIR was prepared, we have seen the
crash of the Delta smelt and other Delta dependent species, the
unprecedented closure of the California salmon fishing season, and a
dramatic decline in water supply reliability for those who rely on
Delta water. This tragic history clearly dispels the myth that Delta
ecosystem restoration can be achieved alongside ever increasing
levels of freshwater export. We fully expect that the updated
science and lessons learned since 2000 will lead to reduced exports,
more sustainable water policies, and better management of the Bay
Delta.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">"California must act now to secure a water
future that is not as heavily dependent on the fragile Bay Delta
Estuary. Water legislation introduced this year, including AB 2153
(Krekorian/Hancock) and AB 2175 (Laird/Feuer), support increased
development of water recycling, water efficiency, groundwater
protection and restoration, and stormwater capture and provide a
path to water security for California. </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">"This
Court decision should not be used as an excuse to ignore the impacts
of our flawed water policies. We look forward to working with the
Governor, legislators, water agencies, businesses, and environmental
and environmental justice organizations to implement water policies
and actions that are capable of sustaining our people, economy and
environment."</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black">###</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align=center> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">The
Planning and Conservation League, </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><A
href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ljIyB5EDPslCIiqVnvBeJIi5a08LD%2B1v"><FONT
color=#800080>www.pcl.org</FONT></A></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">, partners with hundreds of California
environmental organizations to provide <SPAN style="COLOR: black">a
voice in Sacramento for sound planning and responsible environmental
policy. </SPAN></SPAN></DIV><!-- TemplateEndEditable --></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- END MAIN TABLES --><!-- BEGIN NAV LINKS -->
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=682 bgColor=#000066 border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD colSpan=2 height=5></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD
style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; COLOR: #ffffff; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"
vAlign=top align=middle height=20><A
href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=QIDJ6me7n45CIiqVnvBeJIi5a08LD%2B1v"><FONT
color=#ffffff><B>PCL</B></FONT></A><FONT
color=#999933> | </FONT> <A
href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=gvTi6l%2BfgSlCIiqVnvBeJIi5a08LD%2B1v"><FONT
color=#ffffff><B>PCL FOUNDATION</B></FONT></A><FONT
color=#999933> | </FONT> <A
href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=1mz6xY7KRhdCIiqVnvBeJIi5a08LD%2B1v"><FONT
color=#ffffff><B>DONATE NOW!</B></FONT></A><FONT
color=#999933></FONT>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- End NAV LINKS --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- END CONTAINER TABLE (NAV LINKS/MAIN TABLE/SECONDARY MESSAGE --><!-- BEGIN EXCLUSIONS TABLE --><!-- END EXCLUSIONS TABLE --><!-- BEGIN SUBSCRIBE TABLE -->
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=682 border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR align=middle>
<TD width=682><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif color=#666666
size=1><BR>Please add <FONT color=#666666>pclmail@pcl.org</FONT> to your
address book to ensure delivery to your inbox.<BR><BR>1107 9th Street,
Suite 360, Sacramento, CA 95814 <BR>Phone (916) 444-8726 • Fax (916)
448-1789 • <A
href="mailto:pclmail@pcl.org">pclmail@pcl.org</A><BR><BR>Copyright, 2008
The Planning and Conservation League. All rights
reserved. </FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>