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<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><img
width=144 height=16 id="Picture_x0020_1"
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<p><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt'>GEORGE MILLER: Time for fresh thinking on
fresh water </span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><b>Posted at 12:00 AM on Friday, Feb. 26, 2010</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><b>By George Miller <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>When it comes to California water wars, a lot has changed. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>Regrettably, you wouldn't know it from Bill McEwen's column, "It's
easy to blame Valley farmers for Delta's woes" Feb. 20, which ignored
significant progress in untangling the historically polarized battle over
ensuring a stable supply of water for all of California's stakeholders and
strengthening our economy.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>Erroneously attacking my water credentials might feel good, but it does
not solve problems. Fortunately, people across the state now understand that we
can no longer unilaterally change water allocations for one group or another
without the basis of sound science. But that is what Sen. Dianne Feinstein
proposes to do and what Mr. McEwen endorsed in his column. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>Sen. Feinstein's plan to accelerate water withdrawals out of the
Sacramento River and San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem is a serious mistake --
politically and environmentally.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>Her plan would wipe out the remaining Sacramento salmon runs, eliminating
Pacific Coast fishing industry jobs already under assault from the drought. It
would harm northern California water supplies and water rights. And it would
undercut significant statewide collaborative water efforts, paralyzing California
water policy.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>With a fuller picture of recent progress on California water policy, it's
easy to understand how devastating and misguided the Feinstein proposal is.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>The Bush administration's involvement in California's water conflicts was
minimal at best and malicious at worst, with a substantial disregard of
scientific evidence. Without a healthier Bay-Delta system, neither the
fisheries, the cities, nor the farmers will ever see their situation improve.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>That's why the Governor's Delta Vision Task Force argued that state
policy must restore the Delta ecosystem and create a more reliable water supply
for California. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>That's why state lawmakers wrote a package of water bills, and that's why
water agencies, environmental groups, and others have worked together on a
comprehensive Bay-Delta Conservation Plan.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>That's also why I convened a series of meetings last summer with my
colleagues, including Sen. Feinstein, Rep. Jim Costa and Rep. Dennis Cardoza,
so that we could work together to accomplish our shared goals of an improved
Bay-Delta estuary and an improved California economy.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>We agreed to temporarily amend the Central Valley Project Improvement
Act, the law I authored, to change how water transfers are managed in the
state.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>I worked with Congress and my Valley colleagues to provide additional
funding for infrastructure projects that will add flexibility to water delivery
systems, including the Delta-Mendota Canal/California Aqueduct Intertie.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>I fought to include $100 million in the Jobs for Main Street Act to fund
the Obama Administration's action plan for California water needs.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>And for several years now, I have championed congressional water
recycling bills for Republicans and Democrats benefitting Southern and Central
California and the Southwest that would yield water for hundreds of thousands
of households. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>But in a sign of how some people have failed to modernize their thinking
about California water, when it came time to vote on my own bill to yield water
for another 24,000 California households in the Bay Area at no detriment to any
other water user in the state, every single congressman from the Valley opposed
it.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>California's state and federal water policies are interconnected. It is
in the best interest of all farmers and all stakeholders to work
collaboratively to improve the health of the Bay-Delta and add flexibility to
our water systems. But make no mistake: All of these efforts will be derailed
by Sen. Feinstein's plan.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b>I hope Mr. McEwen will now understand just how much the rest of the state
has changed its thinking on water, and how important fresh thinking on this
precious resource is for our state's future success. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p><b><span style='font-size:7.5pt'>Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez) is the
former chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee. </span></b><b><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
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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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