Feinstein planning major delta legislation

[Auggie]

S.F. Chronicle, Thursday, October 1, 2009

Washington - -- California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, considered a pre-eminent broker in the state's water wars, said Wednesday she is planning one of the biggest pieces of legislation she's ever attempted, to address the water and environmental crisis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Feinstein told The Chronicle of her plans after a fiery public hearing at the Interior Department in Washington, where Secretary Ken Salazar fended off angry charges from Central Valley congressmen that the Obama administration has failed to respond to the crisis that is devastating California's farm communities.

The legislation is still in the idea stage, but Feinstein has told her staff to scour other major water restoration projects, from the Great Lakes to the Everglades, to find a way to fix the delta, one of the world's largest natural estuaries.

"We are looking at putting together a major delta restoration act," Feinstein said. "There is enormous national significance of this delta estuary. It's 2,000 miles of levees, it goes up through Sacramento, and it is an enormous inland body of water that has not gotten the attention it needs. It is crumbling and in an earthquake could come down entirely."

She also called for waiving the Endangered Species Act to speed water transfers from the delta to farmers. "Just get it done as fast as we can," she said.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/01/MNM519V25G.DTL#ixzz0ShTA51Sg

[Le Taz Hot]

1. Well, I know this is going to draw boos and hisses

but I'm in the San Joaquin Valley and the consequences of the drought AND the feds turning off the spigots has been devastating to families here. And PLEASE spare me the environmental lectures. I've been a conservationist/environmentalist all my life and yes I understand the Westlands Water District issues. I just find it difficult to reconcile it when I look into the face of a 5-year-old who hasn't eaten in 2 days (food bank distribution). And most of these people are undocumented workers. Of all the shit we hear on DU about "open borders" and the plight of the undocumented workers, I wonder where the hell these people are now. **crickets**

There simply HAS to be a compromise.