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<p><span class=storyheadline><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt'>Proposals may
divert additional Trinity water</span></b></span><span class=storyheadline><span
style='font-size:18.0pt'> </span></span><br>
<span class=storybyline>BY AMY GITTELSOHN THE TRINITY JOURNAL<b> </b></span><br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p><b>Trinity River advocates are on high alert with water proposals pending at
both the state and federal levels which they fear will result in more water
diverted from the river. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>On the state front, legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently
passed a state water package meant to restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
and provide a more stable water supply to Southern California cities and
Central Valley farmers. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>But Trinity County's representative in the state Assembly, Wesley
Chesbro, D-Arcata, voted against the bills, saying that the emphasis should be
on water conservation, not making it easier to ship more water south. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>"This package makes it easier to access North Coast rivers and the
Trinity River," Chesbro said. "The water package sets up a streamlined
decision-making process for building a peripheral canal. … It locks the
voters out of the opportunity to decide as they did in the 1970s." <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>The governor and new Delta Stewardship Council — most of whom will
be appointed by the governor — will have the authority to decide whether
to build the canal, Chesbro said, and that process is now in place regardless
of whether or not voters pass the bond measure also included in the package. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>Probably next November, voters will be asked to approve the $11.1 billion
bond measure to pay for recycling, drought relief, water storage and wastewater
treatment programs. The $3 billion in that bond for water projects down south
"will increase the pressure on the Trinity and other North Coast rivers
for increased water export," Chesbro said. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>The use of general obligation bonds rather than revenue bonds means,
"not only do they want take our water, they want to make us help pay for
it," Chesbro said. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>The water package includes false promises for the environment and guarantees
for Southern California farmers, said Tom Stokely, retired senior resource
planner for Trinity County and a board member for the California Water Impact
Network. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>The 20 percent reduction in water usage does not apply to agriculture,
and there are numerous loopholes for urban water agencies, he said. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>Furthermore, although the plan calls for groundwater monitoring, this
does not include regulation, Stokely said. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>Assemblyman Chesbro has signed on as a coauthor of a bill that would
require legislative approval of any future plans to build a peripheral canal
around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and would also require a full fiscal
analysis by the Legislative Analyst's Office before any such project could
proceed. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>In another water issue, the federal Bureau of Reclamation has petitioned
the State Water Resources Control Board for an extension to the year 2030 on
certain CVP water rights permits, including seven on the Trinity River. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>Originally granted to Reclamation in 1959, but never developed, the
Trinity River permits in question promise allocations amounting to millions of
acre-feet of water in addition to what is already diverted to the CVP. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>The Trinity County Board of Supervisors has filed a protest to the
extension request because the permits in question were based on minimum
in-stream flows to the Trinity River of just 120,500 acre-feet, far less than
the Trinity River Record of Decision signed in 2000 calls for even in a
critically dry year. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>"I certainly will appear in support of Trinity County's efforts
before the water board," Chesbro said. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>From Reclamation, Deputy Regional Resources Manager Richard Stevenson
said at this point the agency is merely seeking more time, until 2030, in which
to show how much water it puts to beneficial use under 32 permits, including
those for the Trinity. Based on that, the state board will determine licensing
conditions. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>At that stage the state board could consider requests to include the
terms and conditions of the Record of Decision, he said. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>"There are still plenty of opportunities to consider whether or not
the ROD terms should be incorporated into our permits," he said, noting
"We are operating to what ROD calls for." <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>The state board has received 14 protests pertaining to the Reclamation
petition, and the agency is to be given time to respond to protests the board
accepts before the matter is placed on the board's hearing calendar. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>Still another water-related matter is being heard in the U.S. Senate. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>S. 1759, sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, would waive two requirements
in existing law in order to facilitate water transfers. One requirement which
would be waived ensures that water to be transferred would have been used
beneficially in the year it's transferred. The other requires that the transfer
not exceed the three-year average of water used by the transferring agency. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>Stokely, from the Water Impact Network, said the effect of waiving those
requirements will be a drawdown of reservoirs, including Trinity Lake.</b> <br
clear=left>
<o:p></o:p></p>
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<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>
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</span></i></b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></i><b><span
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