CALFED bill passes major hurdle

Metropolitan chairman commends bipartisan efforts by Sen. Feinstein

LOS ANGELES, Calif., June 6, 2002 -- The chairman of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California recently praised the leadership of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) in forging bipartisan support for federal legislation that reauthorizes the state/federal effort addressing the problems of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta.

Clearing a major legislative hurdle, Sen. Feinstein's restructured bill, S. 1768, recently passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee by an 18-5 vote. The bill, which provides CALFED $1.63 billion over the next three years, now heads to the Senate floor for approval.

"Because of Sen. Feinstein's leadership and bipartisan cooperation, we have a better bill for California than we had a month ago. We have a long way to go, but recently's vote was a big step forward," said MWD Chairman Phillip J. Pace.

"The revised bill provides adequate federal cost-sharing to complete CALFED's first stage over the next three years and offers greater specifics on the types of projects to be funded under CALFED, including off-stream and groundwater storage. It also provides for urban Southern California's interests in the various CALFED programs," Pace said.

A partnership of state and federal resource agencies, the CALFED program has developed a comprehensive plan to restore the Bay-Delta's environmental health and to improve the reliability and quality of water supplies for California's urban and agricultural centers.

The fragile estuary where San Francisco Bay meets the delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, the Bay-Delta provides about 60 percent of the freshwater used in the state. The largest estuary on the West Coast, the Bay-Delta also is a source of drinking water for 17 million Southern Californians.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a cooperative of 26 cities and water agencies serving 17 million people in six counties. The District imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage, and other water-management programs.