Senate Panel Approves CALFED Bill - Legislation by Senators Feinstein and Boxer Authorizes $1.6 billion for California Water

Senate Panel Approves CALFED Bill
- Legislation by Senators Feinstein and Boxer Authorizes
$1.6 billion for California Water -
June 5, 2002

Washington, DC - The U.S. Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee today approved legislation by Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer (both D-Calif.) to help restore California's endangered water ecosystem and enhance California's water supply, reliability and quality to ensure adequate resources for the future. The legislation approved by the panel by an 18-5 vote was a modified version of an earlier bill introduced by the two California senators.

"Today, the Energy Committee demonstrated its strong support for passing CALFED legislation," Senator Feinstein said. "This is good news for California and a major step forward in the effort to have CALFED legislation signed into law."

"I look forward to working with my colleague so that CALFED is reauthorized by the full Senate," Senator Boxer said.

Changed the authorization level from $2.4 billion over 5 years to $1.6 billion over 3 years. The bill still requires that at least 2/3 of the funding for the overall program come from the State of California and water users.

Added a section requiring a "cross-cut budget" that will allow the Administration to determine which agencies would fund which portions of the program, reducing the impact on the Bureau of Reclamation's budget.

Included a section with a detailed description of criteria for the annual finding of balance between the program elements.

"I think the bill approved today represents a significant improvement over previous versions. Like the earlier versions, this legislation essentially approves the Record of Decision for addressing the CALFED Bay-Delta components," Senator Feinstein said. "But by providing greater specificity, these changes give senators a fuller understanding of the programs this bill would fund."

"In addition, the bill has the support of environmentalists, municipal water users, and, for the first time, every single agricultural district in the State, including Westlands. Yet, despite today's success, there is much work that remains to be done. But this vote gives me hope that the Senate will pass this bill soon."

In addition, the updated legislation adds detailed summaries and appropriation levels for each program element including the following:

Additional feasibility studies for the following projects requiring further consideration:

Conveyance - $125 million to improve the movement of water throughout the state.

Water Use Efficiency - $295 million for water conservation projects that provide water supply reliability, water, quality and ecosystem benefits to the Bay-Delta System.

Water Transfers - $5 million for increasing the availability of existing facilities for water transfers, lowering transaction costs through permit streamlining and maintaining a water transfer information clearinghouse.

Environmental Water Account - $100 million for implementation of the Environmental Water Account.

Integrated Regional Water Management Plans - $250 million for establishing competitive grant programs to assist local and regional communities in development integrated regional water management plans and implementation of projects and programs the improve water supply reliability.

Ecosystem Restoration - $225 million for water restoration projects in the San Francisco Bay, the Delta, and its tributaries, habitat restoration projects in the Delta, San Pablo Bay, and Suisan Bay and Marsh, fish screens and fish passage improvement projects, and other projects.

Watersheds - $75 million to build local capacity to assess and manage watersheds affecting the Bay-Delta system, implement locally-based watershed conservation, maintenance and restoration actions, and provide technical assistance.

Water Quality - $125 million to address drainage problems in the San Joaquin Valley, to implement source control programs in the Delta and its tributaries, and to fund other programs.

Levee Stability - $100 million to assist local reclamation districts in reconstructing Delta levees to a base level of protection and enhance the stability of levees with particular importance.

Science - $100 million to establish and maintain an independent science board, technical panels and standing boards to provide oversight and peer review of the program and to conduct expert evaluations and scientific assessment of all program elements.