Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
June 18, 2008
1. Top Items -
Salmon smolts transported past the Delta
The Sacramento
Water officials to hold meetings on Delta issues
The Sacramento
Bush to Congress: Embrace energy exploration now
The Associated Press- 6/18/08
With gas above $4, some who previously backed the longtime ban say it's time to start exploring.
The
Bush Will Seek to End Offshore Oil Drilling Ban
The New York Times- 6/18/08
McCain plays with fire on offshore drilling
Politico- 6/17/08
Feinstein Opposes Efforts to Lift Moratoria on Offshore Drilling for OCS
YubaNet-6/18/08
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Salmon smolts transported past the Delta
The Sacramento
By Matt Weiser
The Department of Fish and Game hauled 20.2 million fall-run chinook salmon smolts this year from hatcheries on the American, Feather and Mokelumne rivers. The fish were dumped into net pens on shore, then towed by barge into
The state has trucked salmon for years, but never on this scale, said spokesman Harry Morse, and nor has anyone else.
"I called both
Fish and Game trucked nearly all its hatchery chinook this year to ensure more fish survive to spawn again. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service trucked 1.4 million chinook from its Coleman hatchery near
Trucking avoids exposure to predators and pollution in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. But a debate exists on whether this disrupts the fishes' ability to return to their home rivers.
The Central Valley fall chinook this year is predicted to reach its lowest level in more than three decades, and fishing seasons have been closed as a result.#
http://www.sacbee.com/378/story/1021648.html
Water officials to hold meetings on Delta issues
The Sacramento
By Matt Weiser
State water officials will host three town hall meetings on Delta issues next week, with the aim of helping the public understand the many studies and programs under way to correct ecological and water delivery problems in the estuary, the largest on the West Coast of the
Programs involving the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta include the governor's Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force, the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan, emergency response planning, habitat restoration and flood-safety improvements. The public will have a chance at each meeting to learn about these programs, ask questions and share concerns.
The 740,000-acre Delta is witnessing the decline of nine fish species, serious water quality problems, and legal and environmental constraints that have sharply reduced water exports this year.
The various Delta research programs are examining new water delivery plumbing, improved levees, and proposals to increase and improve wildlife habitat. These efforts could affect some communities by dramatically altering land use in the Delta.
The meetings are Monday in
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1023138.html
Bush to Congress: Embrace energy exploration now
The Associated Press- 6/18/08
With gasoline topping $4 a gallon, President Bush urged Congress on Wednesday to lift its long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, saying the
"There is no excuse for delay," the president said in a statement in the Rose Garden. With the presidential election just months away, Bush made a pointed attack on Democrats, accusing them of obstructing his energy proposals and blaming them for high gasoline costs. His proposal echoed a call by Republican presidential candidate John McCain to open the Continental Shelf for exploration "Families across the country are looking to
Congressional Democrats were quick to reject the push for lifting the drilling moratorium, saying oil companies already have 68 million acres offshore waters under lease that are not being developed.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Bush's proposals "another page from (an)... energy policy that was literally written by the oil industry — give away more public resources."
Sen. Barack Obama, the Democrats' presumptive presidential nominee, rejected lifting the drilling moratorium that has been supported by a succession of presidents for nearly two decades.
"This is not something that's going to give consumers short-term relief and it is not a long-term solution to our problems with fossil fuels generally and oil in particular," said Obama. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, lumping Bush with McCain, accused them of staging a "cynical campaign ploy" that won't help lower energy prices.
"Despite what President Bush, John McCain and their friends in the oil industry claim, we cannot drill our way out of this problem," Reid said. "The math is simple:
White House spokesman Tony Fratto retorted: "Anyone out there saying that something can be done overnight, or in a matter of months, to deal with high gasoline prices is trying to fool people. There is no tool in the toolbox out there that will lower gas prices overnight, or in weeks, or probably not even in months."
Bush said offshore drilling could yield up to 18 billion barrels of oil over time, although it would take years for production to start. Bush also said offshore drilling would take pressure off prices over time.
There are two prohibitions on offshore drilling, one imposed by Congress and another by executive order signed by Bush's father in 1990. Bush's brother, Jeb, fiercely opposed offshore drilling when he was governor of
Asked why Bush doesn't act first and lift the ban, Keith Hennessey, the director of the president's economic council, said: "He thinks that probably the most productive way to work with this Congress is to try to do it in tandem."
Before Bush spoke, the House Appropriations Committee postponed a vote it had scheduled for Wednesday on legislation doing the opposite of what the president asked — extending Congress' ban on offshore drilling. Lawmakers said they wanted to focus on a disaster relief bill for the battered
Bush also proposed opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling, lifting restrictions on oil shale leasing in the Green River Basin of Colorado, Utah and
With Americans deeply pessimistic about the economy, Bush tried to put on the onus on Congress. He acknowledged that his new proposals would take years to have a full effect, hardly the type of news that will help drivers at the gas stations now. The White House says no quick fix exists.
Still, Bush said Congress was obstructing progress — and directly contributing to consumers' pain at the pump.
"I know the Democratic leaders have opposed some of these policies in the past," Bush said. "Now that their opposition has helped drive gas prices to record levels, I ask them to reconsider their positions."
Bush said that if congressional leaders head home for their July 4 recess without taking action, they will need to explain why "$4 a gallon gasoline is not enough incentive for them to act. And Americans will rightly ask how high gas prices have to rise before the Democratic-controlled Congress will do something about it."
Bush said restrictions on offshore drilling have become "outdated and counterproductive."
In a nod to the environmental arguments against drilling, Bush said technology has come a long way. These days, he said, oil exploration off the coastline can be done in a way that "is out of sight, protects coral reefs and habitats, and protects against oil spills."
Congressional Democrats, joined by some GOP lawmakers from coastal states, have opposed lifting the prohibition that has barred energy companies from waters along both the East and West coasts and in the eastern
On Monday, McCain made lifting the federal ban on offshore oil and gas development a key part of his energy plan. McCain said states should be allowed to pursue energy exploration in waters near their coasts and get some of the royalty revenue.
Obama retorted that the
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/06/17/national/w163034D20.DTL
With gas above $4, some who previously backed the longtime ban say it's time to start exploring.
The
By Richard Simon and Bob Drogin, Staff Writers
Opposition to offshore drilling -- once ironclad in places like
"Floridians are suffering, and when you're paying over $4 a gallon for gas, you have to wonder whether there might be additional resources that we might be able to utilize to bring that price down," said Crist, a Republican.
At the same time, pressure to drill is mounting.
President Bush today is expected to call on Congress to lift the ban on new offshore drilling, and a House committee will consider a proposal to relax the moratorium.
John McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, opposed new offshore drilling in his 2000 presidential campaign. He said Tuesday that he now supported lifting the long-standing ban.
"I believe it is time for federal government to lift these restrictions and put our own reserves to use," the
Much of the nation's coastal waters are off-limits to new oil and gas leasing until 2012 under executive orders first issued by Bush's father,President George H.W. Bush, in 1991 and extended by President Clinton in 1998. In addition, Congress has taken action annually since 1981 to preclude drilling in coastal areas.
But high petroleum prices have caused policymakers to begin rethinking a variety of issues, including opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration and imposing mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions from oil refineries and power plants.
"For years I have argued that we should avoid offshore drilling and tapping into underground reserves in ANWR until there was an emergency that left us with no choice," Rep. James T. Walsh (R-N.Y.), a longtime backer of the drilling ban, said recently. "That time has come."
The developments are the latest indication of the growing power of energy prices to overwhelm other priorities.
"We're seeing a large shift in public attitudes toward exploration," said C. Jeffrey Eshelman of the Independent Petroleum Assn. of America, expressing hope that McCain's change of heart "breaks ground for others to follow."
Environmentalists are increasingly concerned. Richard Charter of the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund called this "the most risky year in 29 years" for the drilling ban.
In one sign of concern, an effort to pass a major climate-change bill stumbled this month amid complaints from Democrats as well as Republicans that it would drive up energy prices.
McCain, in reversing his long-held position in support of the offshore ban, said he continued to oppose drilling in the Arctic refuge, an environmentally sensitive wilderness that he said deserved to stay off-limits.
Environmental groups, as well as McCain's Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, argued that renewed offshore drilling would not increase supplies or lower prices for years. They warned that new drilling off
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a senior advisor to McCain's campaign, acknowledged in a conference call to reporters that new offshore drilling would have no immediate effect on supplies or prices.
But he added: "There is an important element in signaling to world oil markets that we are serious."
Congressional Republicans have been seizing on high energy prices to ratchet up the pressure on Democrats to allow more domestic drilling.
"For a long time, for appropriate reasons, we've been very sensitive about offshore drilling in
Despite skyrocketing oil prices, efforts to weaken the offshore ban face stiff opposition.
"The people of
"They're going to disagree from time to time, and this is one of those cases," he said.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) decried McCain's stance. "He ought to know he'd ruin
But as Bush adds his support to the drive to lift the ban, a new attempt is expected today in the House Appropriations Committee to allow drilling 50 miles or more off the coast.
The ban, inspired by a devastating 1969 oil spill off
But Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) said he saw a shifting political climate.
"I think it's changed. And I think $4 a gallon has done that," he said. "This is compelling. I hear that from people everywhere I go."
"It's about how can we supply enough product so that there is more supply available to meet the ever-increasing demand,"
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-offshore18-2008jun18,0,3763262.story?page=2
Bush Will Seek to End Offshore Oil Drilling Ban
The New York Times- 6/18/08
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg
WASHINGTON — President Bush, reversing a longstanding position, will call on Congress on Wednesday to end a federal ban on offshore oil drilling, according to White House officials who say Mr. Bush now wants to work with states to determine where drilling should occur.
The move underscores how $4-a-gallon gas has become a major issue in the 2008 presidential campaign, and it comes as a growing number of Republicans are lining up in opposition to the federal ban.
The party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona, used a speech in Houston on Tuesday to say he now favors offshore drilling, an announcement that infuriated environmentalists who have long viewed him as an ally.
Even before the disclosure of Mr. Bush’s decision, the drilling issue caused a heated back-and-forth on the campaign trail on Tuesday, as Mr. McCain sought to straddle the divide between environmentalists and the energy industry, while facing accusations from his Democratic opponent, Senator Barack Obama, that he had flip-flopped and capitulated to the oil industry.
In
Mr. Bush has long advocated opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in
Now, though, President Bush is considering repealing his father’s order. Although Ms. Perino said Mr. Bush “is not taking any executive action” on Wednesday, two people outside the White House said such a move was under serious consideration, and a senior White House official did not dispute their account.
“This is a strong point of discussion inside the White House,” said Representative John E. Peterson, a Pennsylvania Republican who has been asking Mr. Bush for years to rescind his father’s action. Mr. Peterson is also leading an effort in Congress to repeal its ban.
With oil selling for more than $130 a barrel and no end in sight to high gasoline prices, Mr. Bush, a former oilman from
No one knows for certain how much oil is in the moratorium area, but the federal Energy Information Administration estimates that roughly 75 billion barrels of oil in the United States are off-limits for development, and that 21 percent of this oil — or 16 billion barrels — is covered by the offshore moratorium.
Mr. Bush’s new stance on offshore drilling will inject him squarely into the presidential campaign, by putting the full weight of the White House behind Mr. McCain at a time when he is trying to demonstrate presidential stature. But it will also expose Mr. McCain to accusations from Democrats that a McCain presidency would be akin to a Bush third term.
At the same time, the move will put the onus on Democrats, many of whom have long been staunchly opposed to offshore drilling. And it is likely to exacerbate the 30-year-old standoff in
That debate has grown especially acute in recent weeks, with the White House in “I told you so” mode. In a speech to the United States Chamber of Commerce last week, Vice President Dick Cheney said, “We should hear no more complaining” from opponents of domestic drilling, whom he called “part of the problem.”
Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic leader, responded by calling the vice president “Oil Man Cheney,” saying: “So all that Cheney can talk about, the Oil Man Cheney can talk about, is drilling, drilling drilling. But there is not enough oil in
After hearing of Mr. Bush’s proposal on Tuesday night, Mr. Reid affirmed his opposition, saying, “The Energy Information Administration says that even if we open the coasts to oil drilling that won’t have a significant impact on prices.”
And the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said, “The president’s proposal sounds like another page from the administration’s energy policy that was literally written by the oil industry: give away more public resources to the very same oil companies that are sitting on 68 million acres of federal lands they’ve already leased.”
The Congressional moratorium was first enacted in 1982, and has been renewed every year since. It prohibits oil and gas leasing on most of the outer continental shelf, 3 miles to 200 miles offshore. Since 1990, it has been supplemented by the first President Bush’s executive order, which directed the Interior Department not to conduct offshore leasing or preleasing activity in areas covered by the legislative ban until 2000. In 1998, President Bill Clinton extended the offshore leasing prohibition until 2012. One person familiar with the deliberations inside the White House said that Mr. Bush was briefed on Tuesday by his top aides, including Joshua B. Bolten, the chief of staff, and that the aides recommended lifting the executive order.
On Capitol Hill, Republicans are proposing several bills to undo the ban. They differ on how close to shore drilling could begin, but all would give states a veto on oil exploration within 100 miles of their coastlines. Ms. Perino said Mr. Bush believed Congress should pass one of the bills, so the federal government and the states could work together to share revenues from exploration.
The issue does not fall entirely along party lines. One prominent Republican opponent of drilling, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, does not intend to change his stance, a spokesman said Tuesday. In Houston, meanwhile, Mr. McCain, who has long been at odds with Mr. Bush on another environmental issue, climate change, tried to distance himself from the White House.
In a speech to oil industry executives and business and community leaders, the senator implicitly criticized Mr. Cheney, who in 2001 dismissed conservation as a “personal virtue.” Mr. McCain said the next president would have to break with the policies of the past, adding, “In the face of climate change and other serious challenges, energy conservation is no longer just a moral luxury or a personal virtue.”
On the issue of offshore drilling, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Mr. McCain’s domestic policy adviser, said the senator had supported the moratorium until a compromise was reached in late 2006 between the federal government and Gulf Coast states that permitted oil and gas exploration in a vast area mostly 100 miles from shore.
“Prior to that, he favored the moratorium as a way to support states’ opposition to exploration,” Mr. Holtz-Eakin said.
But Mr. Obama, campaigning in
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/washington/18drill.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
McCain plays with fire on offshore drilling
Politico- 6/17/08
By Charles Mahtesian and David Mark
By calling for an end to the federal ban on offshore oil drilling, John McCain is placing a risky bet. He is wagering that skyrocketing gas prices have finally reached a tipping point, a threshold moment that has led voters to rethink their strong and long-held opinions against coastal oil exploration.
The stakes couldn’t be higher: If he is wrong, McCain will have seriously damaged his chances in two key states with thousands of miles of coastline — California and Florida — and where opposition to offshore oil drilling has been unwavering. And he will have undermined some of his closest political allies in those states and others, including potential fall battlegrounds such as
“Before $4.25-per-gallon gas, this would have been like pulling a pin on a grenade and rolling it into the state,” said David Johnson, the former executive director of the Florida Republican Party. “It would have been a fool’s errand to recommend it. It was never, ever a thing that a smart politician would have done in
In
“
Indeed, an overwhelming 64 percent of Californians opposed opening up more of the state’s coast to oil drilling, according to a February 2006 survey by the Public Policy Institute of California. That figure was up 14 percentage points from 2004.
“Overall, the state has been clearly on record, from the governor on down, as strongly opposing offshore drilling,” said Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), who represents a Santa Barbara-based coastal district that is home to some of the state’s most vocal drilling resistance.
But that was before the latest gas price spike in two states heavily dependent on automobiles.
State Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, a Northern California Republican who favors offshore drilling, acknowledged drilling would be a heavy political lift but said rising prices may be a mitigating factor.
“Traditionally in
Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) also brushed off concerns that calls to lift the oil drilling moratorium could alienate environmentally minded independent voters.
“I don’t see it as a problem. In paying $4 a gallon for gas, the American people have come to realize we’ve got to get oil for ourselves,” said Myrick, who recently introduced legislation that would overturn a long-standing moratorium on drilling for oil and natural gas off the Atlantic Coast. “Everybody wants clean beaches. I certainly would not do anything that was going to destroy anything.”
Myrick and others pointed to a new Rasmussen Reports survey — conducted before McCain announced his proposal on Monday — which found that 67 percent of voters believed drilling should be allowed off the coasts of
National surveys, however, can fail to take into account the fierce resistance to offshore oil drilling in the states that stand to be affected.
“We have 1,300 square miles of coastline here and our whole culture and identity is tied to our coastline,” said Holly Binns, field director for Environment Florida, an environmental advocacy group that opposes offshore oil drilling. “This is a state where if you don’t understand how deep the connections are to our identity and our culture, you could step on a landmine. This could be one of those cases.”
Already, one politician appears to have done that. After opposing drilling during his successful 2006 election campaign, Gov. Charlie Crist (R-Fla.) is drawing the ire of environmentalists for appearing to back off from his position in recent days. He told reporters Tuesday that his position was evolving and that he now supports exploratory drilling for oil and gas off
“When you’re paying over $4 a gallon for gas, you have to wonder whether there might be additional resources to bring that price down,” Crist said.
Crist, who is frequently mentioned as a prospective running mate for McCain, is not the only politician inconvenienced by McCain’s stance.
“I’m trying to clarify my position,” said Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.). “In
But
“I want to have more detail, but my hope is [McCain] will understand the need to maintain the law as we passed it in 2006, which gives
McCain’s proposal to end the moratorium, coupled with a Tuesday speech in
McCain knocked Obama for proposing “a windfall profits tax on oil, to go along with the new taxes he also plans for coal and natural gas. If the plan sounds familiar, it’s because that was President Jimmy Carter’s big idea too — and a lot of good it did us.”
But in May, McCain said he would consider the same proposal.
“His decision to completely change his position and tell a group of Houston oil executives exactly what they wanted to hear today was the same Washington politics that has prevented us from achieving energy independence for decades,” the Obama campaign said in a statement.#
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11154.html
Feinstein Opposes Efforts to Lift Moratoria on Offshore Drilling for OCS
YubaNet-6/18/08
Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office
There are some who believe that the only solution to our skyrocketing energy crisis is to drill, drill, and drill. And one of their primary targets is the Outer Continental Shelf.
Congress chose to protect these federal waters from oil exploitation in 1981. And Congress has voted to renew that ban every year since then.
But today, these federal protections are under attack.
Let me be clear: lifting the moratoria is a false promise and an unnecessary risk.
A new investigative report from the House Committee on Natural Resources studied the current system of drilling permits on federal lands and in federal waters. And what they found is this: we simply cannot drill our way out of this problem.
Here's what the report found:
* There is no correlation between increased drilling and lower gas prices. The number of drilling permits increased by 361 percent from
1999 to 2007. And yet gas prices more than doubled in that time.
* The vast majority of the oil and natural gas believed to be on the Outer Continental Shelf is already available for exploitation. In fact,
82 percent of natural gas and 79 percent of oil believed to exist on the Outer Continental Shelf is available for drilling throughout existing leases - right now.
* Oil and gas companies are failing to exploit the existing drilling permits they have been issued. In fact, there are 10,000 additional permits for 68 million acres of federal lands and waters where drilling leases have been issued, but are not being used to increase production.
And about 35.5 million acres of those existing, non-producing leases are located in federal waters.
Efforts reopen the federal waters off coast of
Californians are all too familiar with the consequences of offshore drilling. An oil spill in 1969 off the coast of
That's why
Bottom line: we need a real, long-term strategy to address our nation's addiction to fossil fuels. We need to reduce our energy consumption. To make the shift towards renewable energy and clean technology.
This - and not the mantra of drilling - is the solution to our energy crisis. This is the way forward. The choice could not be clearer."#
Fishermen, Conservationists Issue New Legal Challenge to Bush Administration's Reckless Salmon Plan: Groups call on Congress for long-term legislative solutions to West Coast salmon crisis
YubaNet- 6/18/08
by, Earthjustice
Washington, DC June 18, 2008 -- A national coalition of commercial and sport fishermen, conservationists and clean energy and taxpayer advocates are challenging the latest Bush administration plan for continuing to operate federal dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers at the expense of wild salmon, calling it a slap in the face to fishermen, fishing families, and coastal communities.
"Today we are taking the only action we can against another legally inadequate plan from the Bush administration," said Todd True, Senior Managing Attorney for Earthjustice in
In addition to filing litigation today, the groups are also calling on congressional leadership for legislative solutions to the declining salmon populations Columbia-Snake and other West Coast rivers that have contributed to unprecedented salmon declines and fishery closures on the West Coast.
"After so many failed plans, we obviously cannot rely on the Bush administration to help restore salmon in the Pacific Northwest," said Debbie Sease, Conservation Director for Sierra Club in
"Today we are urging our leaders in Congress to step up with legislation that will authorize removal of four outdated dams on the
Among those hardest hit by the West Coast salmon crisis are fishermen, whose livelihoods and family businesses have been harmed by repeated fishery closures and cutbacks in recent years. Fishermen are also among the plaintiffs in the legal challenge being brought against the Bush administration's federal salmon plan.
"The administration's plan not only deliberately ignores science, it overlooks the tens of thousands of people on the West Coast who rely on these fish for their jobs. Without abundant, harvestable populations of salmon we can forget about long-term economic stability," said Pietro Parravano, president of the Institute for Fisheries Resources and commercial fisherman from
The new litigation also coincides with the culmination of the Save Our Wild Salmon National Road Show that has traveled to 11 states and more than 30 cities to bring attention to the West Coast salmon crisis.
"What's happening on the West Coast is a complete disaster," said Nate Grader, co-director of the Wild Salmon Road Show from
"For the last two months, I've been traveling across this country talking to people from
The newest salmon plan from the administration, released on May 5, is the latest in a long history of failure by federal agencies to protect and restore wild salmon throughout the West. National conservation, fishing and taxpayer advocates have criticized the plan's lack of science-based analysis.
"The new plan doesn't suggest even a single new action to address long-term impacts from climate change," said John Kostyack, executive director of Wildlife Conservation and Global Warming for National Wildlife Federation in Washington, D.C. "Science tells us that the warming waters on the West Coast are making salmon populations even more vulnerable to other threats they're facing in the Columbia River Basin, such as the four outdated lower Snake River dams. It's unacceptable that the administration is ignoring the best science we have."
Three of the last four federal plans for the
Despite this history of failure, the new salmon plan calls for cutting several key salmon protection measures and comes with a price tag of more than half a billion dollars per year. While it includes some provisions for habitat, hatchery production, and predator control, it calls for no significant changes to the region's federal hydrosystem and ignores the four dams on the lower Snake River that do the most harm to the basin's endangered salmon.#
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