Senate hearing shows how divisive drought relief can be

WASHINGTON — Thursday's Senate committee hearing on legislation to provide drought relief in the West showed why passing anything on this issue is so difficult.

The hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee focused on two bills to provide help to California -- House-passed legislation sponsored by Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., and a proposal by Democratic California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.

The two take vastly different approaches. The House bill would shift more water to farmers by reducing the amount supporting endangered fish populations, and expedite federal review of water storage projects. Environmental groups oppose the bill, but proponents say endangered fish would still be protected.

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The Feinstein-Boxer bill attempts to expand supply by funding the study and design of desalination plants and by helping rural and small communities buy bottled water and build water-treatment systems.

The bill calls for building new reservoirs or increasing the capacity of existing ones, and promoting recycling and conservation. It authorizes more than $1 billion for these projects. Boxer's support is significant because last year she broke with Feinstein on the issue.

Meanwhile, Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake and others argued the bill needs to be expanded to help other states.

Feinstein said the conditions in California are the worst she has ever seen with the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at the lowest level in 500 years and 2,500 wells now dry.

"There is a strong belief that droughts will become chronic," she said.

Feinstein said her bill has broad support, including from such usual rivals as the Nature Conservancy and the California Farm Bureau Federation.

Valadao blamed federal regulations that he said favor fish over people for some of the water crisis in the West.

He said parts of his district in the southern half of the Central Valley have unemployment rates of 50 percent. "I have seen families out of options living in shacks along the road," he said.

Michael Connor, deputy secretary for the Interior Department, said the administration opposes Valadao's bill, claiming it would impede drought responses and increase legal disputes.

He said the administration favors most of the provisions of the Senate bill but is concerned some provisions could spark legal challenges.

Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said his board voted to support the Senate bill but took no position on the House version.

Beyond the disagreement over the provisions to help California, some members of the committee, including Flake, argued other states should be helped.

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Flake said he had been meeting with a variety of state leaders over the past 18 months to discuss water issues. He called for adding provisions that would help Arizona by:

• controlling water-intensive invasive species;
• protecting critical watersheds by restoring adjoining forests to reduce the chance of serious fires;
• improving water storage.

He said it was also vital that guarantees be included in any bill to ensure that when a state voluntarily contributes water to help maintain the health of the Colorado River system that the water stays in the system.

"It would be like a savings account that your neighbor can just reach into whenever they felt like it," Flake said.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairwoman of the committee, said she favors legislation that helps the entire West and said the testimony of witnesses showed how urgent the situation is in some places.

"The impact here is so broad and it is so wide that our failure to address it can have an extraordinarily significant impact," Murkowski said.

The next step is for the committee to debate and vote on legislation, but Murkowski did not indicate when that might occur.

Colorado River - Our Water Crisis- azcentral.com

Contact Bill Theobald at wtheobal@gannett.com or follow on Twitter @BillTheoald.