Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 1, 2008
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
Governor kills port smog-fighting bill, signs into law sprawl and water supply measures
Feinstein tries to push river bill
Legislation ends 20-year lawsuit alleging Friant Dam wiped out salmon.
$4 million overhaul begins to strengthen
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Governor kills port smog-fighting bill, signs into law sprawl and water supply measures
By Patrick McGreevy and Margot Roosevelt, staff writers
However, a multibillion-dollar proposal to curb air pollution near the state's ports was rejected by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who concluded that the related cargo fees would harm an already suffering economy.
The state's water crisis also attracted his attention Tuesday as he approved $842 million to boost the water supply and bolster endangered levees.
The three environment-related measures were in the spotlight as Schwarzenegger finished work on this year's legislation before a midnight deadline. In 2008, Schwarzenegger has signed 771 bills and vetoed 415.
He won some praise for signing landmark legislation to control the state's global-warming emissions by discouraging sprawl with the nation's first law using government incentives to link transportation funding with climate policy.
"What this will mean is more environmentally friendly communities, more sustainable developments, less time people spend in their cars, more alternative transportation options and neighborhoods we can safely and proudly pass on to future generations," Schwarzenegger said in a statement after signing SB 375.
The number of miles Californians drive has been growing at twice the rate of the state's population increase, as suburbs have spread farther into the countryside. Slashing the amount of driving is critical for
"Land use is . . . the hardest part of the climate equation," said Thomas Adams, president of the California League of Conservation Voters. "This signature sends a crucial message from
Under the new law, projects built in denser communities will get priority in the distribution of $12 billion to nearly $20 billion a year in transportation funds -- a hefty incentive for communities to create more environmentally friendly development plans.
But the 17,000-word law involved a delicate compromise with powerful building interests. To woo their support, its sponsor, incoming state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) exempted them in many cases from strict environmental reviews. That sweetener in the bill caused some environmentalists to oppose it.
The port fee legislation the governor vetoed was the top priority of some environmental groups. It would have imposed a fee on cargo containers to pay for programs to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion.
"Given the current economic downturn," Schwarzenegger said, "it is vitally important that the state does not worsen the situation by mandating added costs on business that do not provide any public benefit."
"The governor killing this year's most important piece of environmental legislation doesn't help anyone," said Martin Schlageter, a spokesman for the Coalition for Clean Air. "It's disgusting."
The measure, SB 974 by Sen. Alan Lowenthal (
The $400 million raised annually would have gone into reducing traffic congestion and putting cleaner-burning engines in trucks and trains.
Backers said 3,700 die each year because of health effects of air pollution caused by moving goods. "This is a sad day for
More than 100 top businesses in
Mike Jacob, vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Assn., said: "Now is a phenomenally bad time for the state to be imposing an additional fee on top of the fees we already pay."
The governor was more receptive to the water solution proposed by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland). Nearly $900 million will soon flow from state coffers to water projects all over
It does not include money for dam construction.
Among other bills approved Tuesday:
* Fruity beverages known as "alcopops" must be prominently labeled as containing alcohol. AB 346 by Assemblyman Jim Beall (D-San Jose).
* Doctors treating terminally ill patients must give them comprehensive information about end-of-life options, such as hospice care at home and the right to refuse treatment. AB 2747 by Assemblywoman Patty Berg (D-Eureka).
* A ban on electronic bingo machines, cited as unfair competition by Indian tribes that own casinos. SB 1369 by Sen. Gil Cedillo (D-
Tuesday's vetoes included:
* A bill that would have provided driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, and one that would have required state-run colleges and universities to provide financial aid to students not in the country legally. SB 60 and SB 1301 by Sen. Gil Cedillo (D-
* A bill to revamp the way farmworkers vote to unionize. AB 2386 by Assemblyman Fabian Nuñez (D-
* A measure requiring retailers and the government to protect consumer information from costly security breaches. AB 1656 by Assemblyman Dave Jones (D-Sacramento).#
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bills1-2008oct01,0,6985795.story?page=1
Feinstein tries to push river bill
Legislation ends 20-year lawsuit alleging Friant Dam wiped out salmon.
By Michael Doyle, Bee
In a last-minute bid to sidestep budgetary obstacles, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein has cut the cost of the river-restoration bill. Feinstein says stripping out money could ease the bill's passage.
"The only viable option is to make the bill [budget] neutral, then pursue legislation in the next Congress to fully restore the original funding provisions," Feinstein told the Friant Water Users Authority late Friday.
Feinstein added that "this will give us momentum going forward," as environmentalists and Friant-area farmers try to complete a lawsuit settlement. Water would be flowing and salmon swimming again below Friant Dam by 2013 under the settlement.
But Feinstein's move caught even some of her Capitol Hill allies by surprise, and the odds still appear heavily stacked against success.
"I don't think that will fly," said Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno.
At the least, the latest maneuvering epitomizes how hectic Capitol Hill becomes as Congress rushes to adjourn. Political opportunities can rise and fall quickly amid the hubbub, and so can lobbying efforts. On Saturday, for instance, Fresno-area political activist Tal Cloud began trying to raise $10,000 for a quick campaign opposing Feinstein's efforts.
The river legislation is supposed to cap a 20-year-old lawsuit. The Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmentalists successfully sued the federal government, contending that Friant Dam wiped out the
The environmentalists won and then negotiated a restoration plan with the farmers of the Friant Water Users Authority. For the past two years, lawmakers have tried without success to pass the legislation authorizing tens of millions of dollars in levee construction and other work the plan needs.
The river-restoration bill has an estimated federal price of roughly $250 million. Feinstein initially folded the bill into a huge public-lands package, designed to attract maximum political support by including about 140 separate bills.
Senators were having a hard time offsetting the cost of the public-lands package. Conservatives also opposed the public-lands omnibus as excessive. The package appeared dead. Then, late Friday, the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and other senators determined they could streamline the bill by removing some of the spending authorization. This outflanked the congressional "pay-go" requirement that bills be paid for.
"I think what the senator is trying to do is keep the bill in play," said Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced.
The revised river bill offers only $88 million in guaranteed spending. The rest must be appropriated by Congress in future years. The original bill authorized roughly $250 million.
In theory, the revised public-lands package might be taken up before the November election or in a potential post-election lame-duck session. In practice, this will still be very hard.
Costa, for one, represents farmers now raising alarms that river-related projects promised to them will never be built if the money isn't guaranteed up front.
"Given the financial crisis that this country is in, the likelihood of receiving substantial additional funding is more remote than ever," the Los Banos-based San Joaquin Valley Exchange Contractors wrote Monday.
In a thinly veiled warning, the west-side farmers further cautioned that if Congress pressed ahead quickly, there may be a "need to return to court."
Others, including the Chowchilla Water District and Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, are likewise insisting that Congress slow down.
The overall Senate public-lands bill itself remains subject to objections by Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, with 60 Senate votes needed to overcome a potential filibuster even as Feinstein urges speed.
"Not to begin," Feinstein warned, "presents a real risk that the parties will return to court." #
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/905328.html
Supes illegally overruled staff on sewage deal
San Francisco Chronicle – 10/1/08
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors illegally overruled city staffers by voiding a lucrative sewage-hauling contract, a state court of appeal ruled Tuesday. The contract was later given to a politically connected company that would charge taxpayers $3 million more for the job.
The three-judge panel of the First District Court of Appeal did not weigh in on whether political considerations affected the board's votes, but ruled that the supervisors had no authority to void the deal approved by the city contracting office.
City law calls for supervisors' approval of contracts lasting more than 10 years or valued at $10 million or greater. In this case, the Board of Supervisors intervened on a 5-year contract that the budget analyst valued at less than $8.6 million.
"The board assumed jurisdiction in this case ... contrary to the only evidence that was before it," Justice Stuart Pollak wrote in an opinion joined by justices William McGuiness and Peter Siggins.
At issue is a contract to take solid waste from city sewage-treatment plants and truck it to a disposal site. Norcal Waste Systems, a politically connected company that often contributes to local campaigns, was given the contract by supervisors who said they doubted S&S Trucking Corp. could really do the job for less while paying prevailing union wages.
The court of appeal ruling upholds an earlier San Francisco Superior Court ruling that awarded the contract to S&S Trucking.
"It's great news for S&S and exactly what we expected," said Aaron Silberman, an attorney for the trucking firm.
The appellate court indicated the contract should now essentially become a 4-year deal because the original cost estimate from S&S Trucking ran through November 2012.
The city could appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court, but there appeared little appetite for that on Tuesday.
"The court is clear, it's an S&S contract," Supervisor Sean Elsbernd said. "Enough is enough. Let's move on with the contract."
Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who initiated the board vote to cancel the contract with S&S Trucking, said: "It doesn't appear promising to appeal this further."
Board President Aaron Peskin declined to comment.
The sewage-hauling job had been performed since the 1950s by San Francisco-based Norcal, whose subsidiaries also collect garbage and recycling waste in the city. The sewage contract was opened for bids in 2007 under a push by Mayor Gavin Newsom for greater competition in city contracting.
The city's Contract Administration Office, which handles public contracts, chose S&S Trucking because the company said it would haul the sewage waste away for $8.5 million over five years - $3 million less than Norcal.
The contract office asked the Board of Supervisors to review the agreement due to the "significant possibility" that the contract price might end up exceeding $10 million, according to city court filings.
After complaints from Norcal and the Teamsters union, the supervisors awarded the contract to Norcal, saying there were serious doubts about whether S&S could perform the services at the price bid while paying the prevailing union wage.
S&S Trucking disputed that. The appellate court, in its ruling, said that even an amended estimate of $9.46 million by the Public Utilities Commission engineer responsible for managing the contract fell short of the $10 million valuation. #
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/01/BA2M1398BB.DTL
$4 million overhaul begins to strengthen
By Ross Farrow
Thanks to a state grant of nearly $4 million, workers are busy adding to five miles of levees on the south side of the
Independent Construction Co., a Concord firm, will add some compacted dirt to beef up the sand levee along the river from Interstate 5 west to Wimpy's Marina at the Sacramento County line, said Aleck Dambacher, a reclamation district board member.
Levees east of I-5 have already been restored.
Crews were busy Tuesday pulling sand away from the levee and replacing it with one-and-a-half feet of fine-crushed rock from the base of the levee to the top. Dambacher said the addition of crushed rock should function to prevent rainwater from seeping through the existing sand levee and prevent saturation of the levee. The levee is 15 to 16 feet high.
"We'll do whatever we can before it rains and do the rest next year," Dambacher said. "By next year at this time, we should be all the way to Wimpy's."
The reclamation district, which serves the
"These people are sitting around with idle (construction) equipment," Dambacher said.#
http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2008/10/01/news/3_levees_081001.txt
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