Turning on the Flow of Federal Water Dollars

Turning on the flow of federal water dollars
By Ellen Tauscher, Congresswoman

California is missing out on a big piece of the federal pie for water dollars, but recent strides could soon put us back in the mix.

In 2000, authorization for Cal-Fed, the federal-state partnership that maintains the balance between water interests in the Bay Area and California, expired, leaving our region high and dry when it comes to federal assistance dollars.

Cal-Fed is vital for important environmental restoration and water supply reliability projects. Now more than ever, California needs the federal government as an active financial partner to help restore the Delta's ecosystem and meet growing water needs.

I have long supported legislation in Congress to reauthorize Cal-Fed, legislation that preserves the current Record of Decision (ROD) established to satisfy the many diverse parties interested in our region's water.

That's why I joined Rep. George Miller to introduce a bill that did exactly that in the last Congress. Our bill was identical to legislation offered by Senators Feinstein and Boxer, which would have streamlined movement through Congress, whereby federal funds could have been brought back to our state sooner.

Unfortunately, our bill was not considered, and instead, residents of the Bay Area faced a longer wait for Cal-Fed reauthorization.

In July, a bill reached the House floor that differed from the version presented by Senators Feinstein and Boxer. The House measure disrupts the existing ROD balance by "preauthorizing" storage projects.

As a consequence, Congress could automatically fund environmentally destructive or fiscally irresponsible construction projects-even when studies show that they would have harmful effects. To stop projects from moving forward, Congress would have 120 days to pass a bill halting them, but more likely, lengthy litigation battles would result.

Also important, this "preauthorization" language represents a significant impediment to immediate progress on Cal-Fed. Since the bill proposed in the Senate does not include such language-and a number of Senators remain vehemently opposed to it-a conference committee is now required to resolve the difference.

Because of this flaw, I joined Rep. Miller to offer an amendment during House debate on the bill, removing just the "preauthorization" portion of the legislation, in order to speed passage of the bill and quickly resume the flow of water funds to California. Our effort received 139 votes of support, which, I believe, sends a strong signal about the need to preserve the balance of water interests in our community.

The House passed the Cal-Fed bill on July 9. Despite inclusion of the "preauthorization" language, passage of this bill marks concerted progress in the right direction. I was very pleased to see this step, and hope that the clock will not run out on Fiscal Year appropriations before a conference can produce a balanced final bill and slate funds for Cal-Fed before the first week in October, when the 108th Congress is scheduled to adjourn.

This year's Cal-Fed reauthorization demonstrates the need for cooperation between the thriving water interests and our state's elected representatives to bring those federal dollars home.

July's debate marks a historic accomplishment of moving us closer to restoring the "Fed" role in Cal-Fed, and I hope to report positive news on this front soon.

Published in The Valley Sentinel, August 2004