Statement of Gale A. Norton
Secretary
U.S. Department of the Interior
before the
Subcommittee on Water and Power
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
United States Senate
Concerning S. 976, the "California Ecosystem, Water Supply, and Water Quality Enhancement Act of 2001"
July 19, 2001
S. 976 would authorize funding through the Secretary of the Interior, as well as governance and management authorities, for the implementation of a comprehensive, balanced, and timely water management and environmental restoration program in California commonly referred to as the CALFED Bay-Delta Program, as reflected in the Federal Record of Decision (ROD) issued August 28, 2000. The purpose of the program is to increase water yield and environmental benefits, as well as improved water system reliability, water quality, water use efficiency, watershed management, water transfers, and levee protection.
As the Committee can imagine, our new Administration faced a substantial number of major resource issues of high priority upon assuming office. In the area of water, virtually every western state has issues of concern and controversy demanding our attention. With the confirmation of Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Bennett Raley and Commissioner of Reclamation John Keys we are able to begin dealing substantively with many of the issues before us. We await the nomination and confirmation of an Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks and a Director for the Fish and Wildlife Service to further assist interagency efforts.
On the Columbia River, the Colorado River and in the Central Valley of California, among others, we are beginning our examination of the results of multi-year, multi-million dollar planning and negotiation efforts. We are looking not only at the results of these enormous work efforts but also at the process used, both internal and external, and the information that was relied upon to make decisions. In addition we are examining the data which provided insight on the biological and socio-economic consequences of these major resource initiatives.
On all of the matters before us, one conclusion is uniformly applicable: we will continue to work toward solutions and we will make decisions that reflect the President's commitment to the balanced and sensible resolution of resource issues across our Nation.
In the case of CALFED, we find the comprehensive and integrated nature of actions proposed and the commitment to the development of a credible science program in support of the decision making process are all laudable. The manner in which federal and state administrations have worked may be considered a model for solutions to resource management problems.
Likewise, we feel that we can secure similar success in achieving the goals of CALFED in the context of our responsibilities in all western states.
Clearly, significant progress has been made in the dedication of state and federal monies for ecosystem improvements in the watersheds that constitute the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the San Francisco Bay. On the Federal side, Congress has appropriated nearly $500 million for CALFED related efforts, for Central Valley Project Improvement Act and CALFED initiatives focused on improving the aquatic and terrestrial habitats of the CALFED solution area.
A Record of Decision is in place that captures years of planning on all program elements of ecosystem restoration, levee system integrity and improvement, water supply and reliability improvements, water quality improvement, improved water use and efficiency, improvements to the upper watersheds, water transfers, storage, and conveyance.
Congress needs to authorize the CALFED program so we can proceed with balanced progress on all resource fronts. The Department also recognizes that outstanding issues are still in need of resolution and we are committed to finding those solutions expeditiously and in concert with this Committee, with the Congress, the administration of Governor Davis and the stakeholders who have been so actively and constructively involved.
I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Committee for your obvious commitment to making significant progress with the CALFED program. I also appreciate the consistent concerns demonstrated by this Committee that progress be made and for your work efforts in developing the bill being considered today. Your continued willingness to work with the Department and the Administration on this matter is of real and continuing importance to us.
S. 976 is an important step forward. Clearly, additional authorizing legislation is required to proceed with the complete program. We support the purposes and many of the provisions of the bill. However, we also have a number of concerns with the bill as written, and we believe some modifications are necessary. We would like to continue working with the Committee to achieve a bill we can fully support and which will implement the CALFED program consistent with the ROD and agreements reached in the Bay-Delta Accord of 1994 and the CALFED framework agreement. We note that S. 976, like other CALFED legislation before the Congress, would be quite expensive.
The results of the CALFED planning process reflect an attempt to balance competing needs and interests. The CALFED planning process brought together agricultural, urban, environmental and business stakeholders with the state and federal agencies in an effort to build agreements on the approaches to managing California's complex water and natural resource issues. We recognize that solutions to any set of problems as large and interconnected as those facing California will be complex. However, all interests must respect the needs and concerns of others. The CALFED ROD attempts to recognize the core interests of all the parties and build a solution that reduces the conflicts in the existing and long-established system and to balance competing interests for comprehensive progress. In addition, consideration should be given to analysis of impacts of the ROD on tribal trust assets, as discussed in the ROD. With the support of Congress and the State of California, CALFED can lead the way in a collaborative process that includes extensive participation of all stakeholders to provide many long-term solutions to California's water management and infrastructure improvement needs.
The "Fed" side of the CALFED Program demonstrates a cooperative planning and coordination effort among ten Federal agencies, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Bureau of Land Management, within the Department of the Interior, as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Western Area Power Administration.
CALFED history and background
The CALFED Bay-Delta Program is a response to the water management and ecosystem problems that came so clearly into focus in the drought of 1987 to 1992 experienced within the Bay-Delta system. Furthermore, the historic and ongoing conflicts between water management for supply and fishery protection give rise to the urgency of the CALFED program. The waters of Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers converge in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which is the largest estuary in the West Coast, and discharges into the San Francisco Bay and to the Pacific Ocean. The Bay-Delta is a maze of waterways and channels that carry over 40 percent of the State's total runoff to the Bay and provides drinking water for more than 22 million Californians, important habitat for over 750 plant and animal species, irrigation water for most of the $27 billion agricultural sector, and water essential to the manufacturing and commercial sectors of the State. Over the past decades, California has witnessed declines in water quality, fish, wildlife and associated habitat, and the reliability of water supplies. The goals of CALFED, which the Administration fully support, are to reverse all these trends.
In December 1994, the State and Federal governments signed the Bay-Delta Accord, which signaled a new approach to managing the Delta and finding solutions to longstanding problems in California. In 1995, CALFED was initiated as a cooperative, interagency effort to reduce conflicts in the Bay-Delta, modernize water management and infrastructure, and to make investments aimed at reducing stressors for species and improving the habitat. The CALFED Program has been envisioned as a three-phase process:
• Phase I objectives were to identify and define the problems confronting the Bay-Delta System and develop a mission statement, program objectives, and alternative actions for further study. During Phase I CALFED concluded that each program alternative would include a significant set of program actions which were grouped into elements to address problems associated with the ecosystem and water management infrastructure.
CALFED Program Accomplishments
In the past several years substantial progress has been made on a number of complex water and natural resource issues through the combined efforts of the public and state and federal agencies working together as CALFED. The greatest accomplishment of the CALFED effort so far is bringing all the State and Federal agencies together to produce the CALFED Record of Decision, signed August 28, 2000, which documents the comprehensive plan for improving California's water supply and water quality, as well as restoring ecological health in the Bay Delta. This Committee has received copies of the most recent annual report of accomplishments which details progress in many CALFED program areas. We particularly would like to bring your attention to the many creative approaches to addressing historic areas of conflict such as the Environmental Water Account.
Also of interest is the CALFED Science Program. We expect this program to provide peer review of the science and information underlying all elements of the CALFED program from adaptive management, to ecosystem improvement projects, to project operations and beyond, we expect CALFED to be supported by a strong and credible science program.
Public workshops have been and are being undertaken by the program on scientific components of public controversies and are clarifying the state of scientific knowledge, thereby reducing the level of controversy. In the near term, these workshops include issues associated with Delta Cross channel operations, effectiveness of the Environmental Water Account for salmon and Delta smelt, salinity effects of levee breaches, and the use of scientific adaptive management. Additional workshops will be undertaken as topics are identified.
CALFED Funding
From FY 1998 to FY 2000, Congress appropriated $190 million for the CALFED Ecosystem Restoration Program and an additional $30 million for other program elements, including projects to improve water supply reliability. These funds were provided through an account in the Bureau of Reclamation budget, but funding for specific projects or programs has been transferred to participating Federal agencies based on plans developed by CALFED. As noted above, CALFED agencies have used these and other funds to screen water diversions for the benefit of fish and farmers, restore degraded habitat, establish an environmental water program, develop conjunctive use projects and develop a state and federal water operations plan. No funds were provided for this account in FY 2001, largely because the appropriations committees deferred to the authorizing committees to review the Program and develop any needed legislation.
The ROD outlines a partnership of State, Federal, and private funding, and estimated that a total of $8.7 billion from state, federal, and private sources would be needed for the Program's implementation. According to Governor Davis, the State is moving forward to finance and implement actions called for in the ROD. In order to support the Federal side of this unique partnership, it is important that appropriate legislation be enacted to authorize Federal Government participation as contemplated by the ROD.
Benefits of S. 976
The Bay Delta is the hub of the State's water supply system and an area of unsurpassed ecological importance. Single-purpose efforts to solve problems in the past have failed to adequately address the comprehensive nature of the Bay-Delta resources and problems and the conflicts between supply and demand. S. 976 would provide authorization for continued Federal participation in the CALFED Bay-Delta Program and to meet Record of Decision commitments. As such, the Administration supports many elements of this bill, recognizing that some modifying language may be needed.
In particular we are supportive of three primary principles outlined in the bill.
Balanced Approach - The authorizing language meets the CALFED principle of comprehensive planning by outlining and providing authority to carry out a water supply plan to promote the ecological health and improve water management in the Bay Delta.
Measurable Goals and Objectives - The legislation would provide for developing measurable goals and objectives for implementing and documenting "significant" progress in achieving the ROD's program elements and the proposed ecosystem enhancement and water supply program actions. Further, the legislation calls for utilizing credible and objective scientific review and basing decisions on the "best available, independently peer-reviewed information."
Governance, Local Coordination, and Public Involvement - The legislation affirms that the participating Federal agencies would help operate the Bay-Delta Program through a permanent governance structure that encourages local and regional partnerships in implementing the Program. The legislation also specifies that State area-of-origin rights would be preserved. Further, the legislation recognizes the need for participating Federal agencies to cooperate with state, local, and tribal governments, non-governmental organizations and the public to obtain input on program implementation planning, design, technical assistance, ecosystem restoration, and peer review of science efforts.
Concerns with S. 976
Despite the progress that has been accomplished through the CALFED Bay-Delta Program, the Administration has some significant concerns relative to the legislation before the Subcommittee today. In addition to the major concerns noted below, we would like to work with the Committee to address technical and other changes as it considers this legislation.
Cost Sharing - One of the central components of the ROD is the notion of >beneficiary pays,= whereby users who benefit from investments in the infrastructure should pay for those benefits. The ROD contemplated the Federal Government, the State, and project beneficiaries each sharing roughly one- third of the costs of implementation. S. 976 generally establishes a maximum Federal cost-share of 50% for each project or activity, but does not otherwise indicate how the cost-share should be determined. We do not object to the 50% ceiling, however, we believe that the cost-sharing should otherwise be consistent with current law or policies. Depending on the project purpose, under current law local sponsors are required to provide up to 100 percent of a project=s cost (e.g., for costs allocated to municipal and industrial water supply projects). We wish to stress the importance of clarifying and integrating cost-sharing measures into the program. We would like to clarify that assignment of operation and maintenance costs will be consistent with general policies.
Project Authorizations - We are also concerned about provisions of the bill that seem to authorize construction of projects before they have completed the normal Administration review of economic and environmental feasibility. Some language also circumvents Congressional oversight of individual projects. Consistent with longstanding policies, we believe that authorization for construction should be provided only after the Administration and Congress have completed a full and favorable review of project economics and environmental feasibility.
Authorization of Appropriations - Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the legislation state that appropriations are authorized "...in such sums as are necessary..." to carry out the actions authorized by the particular section. This appears to imply that there is unlimited funding authority for implementing the CALFED Program. Further, it is not clear whether all appropriations will be coming through the Department of the Interior, or whether the concept of a cross-cut budget will be employed and appropriations will be made directly to the participating Federal agencies which, in some instances, would lead to greater efficiency.
Reporting and Oversight - In general, the reporting and oversight requirements are unclear; it is not apparent which agency is specifically responsible for the compilation of data for submission to Congress. The ROD states that the CALFED staff would be responsible for associated program reporting requirements, however the legislation implies that this would be the responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior.
Conclusion
The history of the settlement of California and the ensuing development of its water resources is replete with political and legal battles. Although agreement on water management may not be immediately achievable, the CALFED Program is a step in reaching a common vision of actions needed for progress. CALFED represents a new approach to an old problem by combining the interests of state and federal agencies with regulatory power over the Bay-Delta together with urban, environmental, and agricultural users, who each have a vested interest in the maintenance and improvement of the Bay-Delta. The CALFED Program has shown water managers, policy makers and the public how to move California toward more equitable and efficient water and ecosystem management. Continued implementation of the CALFED plan offers the opportunity for a long-term solution to the critical problems confronting the Bay-Delta. Specifically, the Department will continue to operate the Central Valley Project in accordance with the provisions of the State's Water Quality Control Plan, Central Valley Project Improvement Act, the Endangered Species Act, and other applicable statutes. The Department is aware of the importance of meeting its environmental commitments, and the importance to the water users of adequate water supply reliability. For these reasons, the Department will continue to work through the CALFED process to improve the environment, and increase the system's water management flexibility.
We believe that the bill attempts to offer a balanced approach toward implementing the ROD commitments and would allow the Federal government sufficient authority to continue to participate in the CALFED program. We look forward to working with the Committee and others in Congress to address the Administration's concerns. Mr. Chairman, I would like to reiterate my appreciation to the Committee and others for continuing to work with the Department to address the significant water and environmental issues facing the West.
I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.