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<h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:white'><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Water draws
Interior chief to Fresno for hearing; <o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:white'><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Salazar,
congressional leaders at town hall meeting Sunday </span><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:white'><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Fresno Bee –
6/25/09<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:white'><span
class=byline5><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";
color:windowtext'>By Tim Sheehan and Michael Doyle</span></span><span
class=byline5><span lang=EN style='color:windowtext'><o:p></o:p></span></span></h1>
<h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:white'><span
class=byline5><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";
color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>MENDOTA
-- Under increasing political pressure to address California's water crisis,
the Obama administration said Wednesday it will dispatch Interior Secretary Ken
Salazar to a hastily organized town hall meeting Sunday in Fresno.</span></b><b><span
style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#272627'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>Interior
Department officials have not yet identified a location for the meeting, which
is scheduled to run from 2:30 to 4 p.m. But it will be Salazar's first official
on-the-ground visit to the region.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>On
Wednesday, meanwhile, state agriculture officials said that a combination of
drought and federal environmental regulations have the potential to turn a
short-term water crisis into a long-term agricultural and economic disaster.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>During
a hearing Wednesday of the state Board of Food and Agriculture at Mendota High
School, panelists raised many of the same issues as at rallies this spring:
Less water for west-side growers means less acreage planted, creating a spike
in unemployment and economic hardship for farm laborers and their communities.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>"With
this regulatory and geologic drought, we've seen really how agriculture touches
every life," state Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura said.
"Especially in this region, so many lives are being affected beyond the
farmers and farmworkers. ... The communities impacted go well beyond the farm
sector."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>Agriculture
on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley relies largely on water transferred
through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta from Northern California. But the
effects of a three-year drought, coupled with federal environmental decisions
to protect the delta smelt and salmon, have severely narrowed the periods in
which massive pumps can be used to move water from north to south.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>Now,
there is a window of less than 90 days in which the pumps can operate; other
proposed regulations threaten to reduce that to about a month out of the year,
officials said.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>"We
can have a lot of rain next year and still have these problems," said Dan
Nelson, executive director of the San Luis & Delta Mendota Water Authority.
"We had chronic shortages even before the smelt and salmon decisions;
these regulations just exacerbated them."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>Mendota
Mayor Robert Silva and Firebaugh City Manager Jose Antonio Ramirez both
described high unemployment and lower sales taxes that are forcing them to make
painful cuts to their cities' services.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>"It's
survival mode for west-side cities," Silva said. "If farmers don't
have water, there's no future for farm towns on the west side."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>Fresno
County Supervisor Phil Larson agreed, adding that farm woes are driving
unemployment higher and sales tax and property tax revenues lower in the
county.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>"Farmers
are getting frustrated, even to the point of losing their farms," he said.
"But forget about the farmers -- look at the people, the school kids, the
food lines."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>And
the worst of the unemployment may be yet to come.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>West-side
farmers Shawn Coburn and Bob Diedrich said the farm labor picture will become
clearer as the harvest season progresses with far fewer crops to harvest.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>Coburn
said he's being forced to rely on low-quality, salty water pumped from
underground just to keep his almond trees alive. "I've got 100 people
coming out every couple of days looking for work, and we're just fighting for
our lives out here," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>Wednesday's
hearing won't render immediate relief, but Kawamura said he hopes it will
encourage the U.S. Department of the Interior to incorporate flexibility and
balance in its regulation of the delta pumps.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>"This
should not be 'state vs. federal,' " Kawamura said. "This should be
the federal government understanding that this is an issue of the food supply,
of food security for the nation. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>"This
state, more than any other in the nation, believes in environmental
protection," he said. "But there is a need for flexibility, both for
infrastructure and for regulations, and for federal agencies to move away from
black-and-white to what works in a crisis."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>The
water emergency has prompted California to ask the Obama administration for
everything from federal funding and streamlined rules to approve new water
projects. But Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, warned against high expectations
for Salazar's visit Sunday.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>"He
isn't going to solve every California water problem on this trip," Cardoza
cautioned. "It's a fact-finding trip." <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>Salazar
will be accompanied by Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes, Bureau of
Reclamation Commissioner Mike Connor and several Valley lawmakers. Cardoza and
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, both met Wednesday with Interior officials and plan
to attend the Fresno meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>"Ever
since we first met with Secretary Salazar in March, we've been telling him he
needed to get involved in this," Costa said. "We've been hammering on
them every week."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>Republicans
have also urged Interior officials to pay greater heed to the Valley's water
problems. Spencer Pederson, spokesman for Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa,
said late Wednesday that Salazar "needs to see for himself what's going on
out there."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>Neither
Radanovich nor Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, had been informed of Salazar's
visit.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>In
recent weeks, the Valley legislators lined up behind an amendment by Nunes to
block a federal decision steering more water into fish habitat protection. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>Though
the amendment failed by a 218-208 vote last week, lawmakers suggested it sent a
signal that could not be ignored. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#272627'>"It's
OK to value fish, that's OK," Nunes said during House debate, "but
understand you're starving families while you value fish." </span></b><b><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker, JcT</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends
of Trinity River</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>PO Box 2327</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Mill Valley, CA
94942-2327</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810
land</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810
cell</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><span style='color:blue'>bwl3@comcast.net</span></a></span></i></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><span style='color:blue'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></i><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="http://fotr.org/"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.fotr.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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