California water district pulls out of delta restoration plan
By Mark Grossi, The Fresno Bee
Nov. 24, 2010
After investing millions of dollars, Westlands Water District is pulling out of an extensive planning effort to heal the troubled Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, saying high-ranking federal officials are derailing it. The draft of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan offers hope of restoring slumping water deliveries to west Valley farmers, Westlands officials said this week. But the Department of Interior advocates more limits on deliveries, they said. “We’re not going to spend another dime on this,” said Jean Sagouspe, Westlands board president. “They changed the goals because they didn’t like what the studies say.” Sagouspe wrote a letter Monday to Interior deputy secretary Dennis Hayes, saying federal officials are sending the message that they will limit water exports even if the ecosystem would not be harmed. Interior officials Tuesday said the Westlands claim is baseless. No additional restrictions have been proposed, they said. The planning process is expected to last until late 2012 or 2013. In a response letter Tuesday, Hayes wrote that the conservation plan is too important for Westlands to leave the process now. “It will be a disservice to all involved if Westlands prematurely walks away from the process based on unfounded conclusions or the mere fact that a range of operational criteria are being reviewed,” he wrote. The exchange between the district and Interior is among many disagreements over the delta, dating to earlier delta restoration efforts in the 1990s. Environmentalists and fishing groups are involved, too. Last week they criticized the draft conservation plan as a water grab for water users such as Westlands and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. …
