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<p><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt'>Water package for parched San Joaquin
Valley set to be unveiled<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><a href="mailto:mdoyle@mcclatchydc.com"><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>mdoyle@mcclatchydc.com</span></b></a><b><span
style='font-size:13.5pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b>Published Friday, Feb. 26, 2010<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>WASHINGTON </b><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>–</span>
The Obama administration is expected today to unveil an ambitious-sounding
package of irrigation deliveries, water transfers, farm loan guarantees and
other programs targeting the parched San Joaquin Valley.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>Crafted amid intense political pressure, the package is supposed to
alleviate farmers' distress while still protecting fish. Some key California
lawmakers said late Thursday they were pleased by the effort, though others
still want more detail.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>"I'm heartened by this," Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein said
Thursday night. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>The comprehensive package is expected to accompany what is normally a
routine water allocation announcement, where the federal Bureau of Reclamation
declares how much water farms and cities can expect. Last February, the bureau
announced farmers south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta would receive
nothing. That later increased to 10 percent of historic deliveries.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>This year, lawmakers have been demanding that farmers receive up to 40 percent
of their historic deliveries. If necessary, Feinstein said she would offer an
amendment rewriting environmental decisions in order to deliver the increased
water.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>Feinstein said Thursday there now appears to be "a good
likelihood" that the administration actions being announced today will go
a long way toward her goal. The precise details were being tightly held until
today.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>"I'm very hopeful," added Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>Feinstein and Boxer spoke as they departed an extraordinary closed-door
session that amounted to a high-level California water summit. Three Cabinet
secretaries, both of the state's senators and more than a half-dozen House
members convened on Capitol Hill for more than 90 minutes to hash out the
state's immediate water woes.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>In part, the session held in the underground Capitol Visitors Center
permitted Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke,
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Council on Environmental Quality chief
Nancy Sutley to sketch out their plans for easing California's pain.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>In part, the session allowed members to keep the pressure on. Democratic
Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno reminded the administration officials of the 40
percent unemployment that's brutalized some San Joaquin Valley towns, while
Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, cited the predator fish and other non-irrigation
causes for the decline of some endangered Delta species.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>Farmers have been leery, with Westlands Water District General Manager
Tom Birmingham predicting Wednesday that the initial water allocation will
again be zero, just like last year. One possibility is that the Bureau of
Reclamation's initial allocation, while low, will be accompanied by
expectations that the other actions being taken will bring total water
deliveries up toward the 40 percent mark. <o:p></o:p></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/fax (call first to fax)</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
mobile</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>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
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