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http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/7585987p-8494850c.html
Westlands to pitch water deal
District could land bigger share for irrigation
under proposed settlement with Indian tribe.
By Mark Grossi
The Fresno Bee
(Published Monday, October 13, 2003, 10:59 AM)
Westlands Water District, locked in a bitter dispute
over irrigation water from Northern California, is
planning Tuesday to offer a settlement proposal with
a Trinity River Indian tribe.
The west San Joaquin Valley farm district wants to
settle a 3-year-old lawsuit against the Department
of Interior over a federal restoration plan for the
Trinity River. The Hoopa Valley Tribe, which
intervened in the lawsuit, would need to approve the
settlement.
Westlands officials say the settlement would provide
almost the same features in the federal restoration
plan, with increased river flows to nurture damaged
habitat and fisheries.
The settlement also would allow Westlands to get a
little more irrigation water than the federal plan
projects. The extra water would prevent potential
cutbacks in dry years.
Hoopa officials said they are mystified that
Westlands officials last week approached the Trinity
County Board of Supervisors with the proposal before
meeting with the tribe.
"Why haven't they stopped by to show it to us before
talking with people who are not involved in the
lawsuit?" asked Hoopa spokesman Tod Bedrosian.
Westlands spokesman Tupper Hull said there was a
misunderstanding. He said district officials tried
to present the proposal to the tribe last week but
were unable to arrange a meeting.
"We made the effort to meet with the tribe," said
Hull.
Westlands will meet with the Interior Department and
the Hoopa in Sacramento on Tuesday, officials said.
The tribe supports the original restoration plan
signed by the Interior Department in 2000. The
Trinity, with headwaters in Northern California's
Trinity Alps, was diverted decades ago to contribute
to the federal Central Valley Project.
Federal officials were obligated by a 1992 law to
restore the river. The 2000 plan represented many
years of scientific study and political compromise.
But, as a result of the plan, water supplies would
be reduced to the Central Valley Project, further
cutting back an already-dwindling supply for
Westlands. The district contracts for more than 1
million acre-feet of project water annually.
Westlands, a 600,000-acre district in west Fresno
and Kings counties, has experienced chronic water
shortages over the last decade, due to irrigation
reform, drought and endangered species protections.
Aside from the farm water, Trinity flows also are
used by hydroelectric plants for Sacramento
Municipal Utility District and other Northern
California areas. The Sacramento utility district
originally joined in the lawsuit, but has since
pulled out. The Northern California Power
Association remains in the litigation.
In a ruling on the lawsuit, a federal judge in 2000
ordered further environmental studies of the Trinity
plan, largely because of the effect on hydro power.
The lawsuit was filed during a time when energy
production was critical for California.
The reporter can be reached at mgrossi@fresnobee.com
or 441-6316.
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