Posted on 09/18/2007 5:21:21 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday proposed a $9 billion water bond measure that would earmark more than half the money for dams opposed by most of the Democrats who dominate the Legislature.
The proposal eclipses the governor's previous $5.9 billion bond plan, in large part by adding a third dam project in Contra Costa County.
Whether the lawmakers will go along with dams - and how much they are willing to pay for them - will be a key part of the negotiations in the Legislature's upcoming special session on water projects.
Senate President Pro Tem. Don Perata, D-Oakland, has introduced his own $5.4 billion water bond proposal, but his plan would allow communities to apply for state grants to build their own dams if they want to spend the money that way.
Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, said the Assembly would need weeks to go through the details of the competing bond proposals, all but assuring lawmakers would miss a Sept. 27 constitutional deadline to put a bond proposal on the Feb. 5 presidential primary ballot. However, both sides acknowledged that deadline could be extended.
Schwarzenegger's proposal was introduced by Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, and includes $5.1 billion to expand the Los Vaqueros reservoir built by Contra Costa County, build a dam above the existing Friant Dam north of Fresno and another in a valley north of Sacramento. The state would pay as much as half of the construction costs on each project, a sticking point with Democrats who say the state has never paid more than 3 percent of a dam.
The Schwarzenegger plan would not allow money to be used to build a peripheral canal around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, although the state could study the project.
The remainder of the governor's proposal would provide $1.9 billion to restore the delta, $1 billion for water recycling, conservation and other supply reliability projects and $500 million to help local agencies undertake environmental restoration projects around the state.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
With the hugh population and expected to hit 50M soon enough,, we could use quite a few new dams and reservoirs.. The disagreement is over how best to pay for them and how much will it cost to fight econazis and the inbred bureaucracy and weather all the spurious lawsuits.
Wasn’t the Auburn dam going to be paid almost %100 by the Feds but the river-rafters blocked it? Now we we’re stuck with the bill if it goes through this time.
To be honest, I’m surprised more existing damns haven’t been destroyed by now. That’s a big push these days. That “second Yosemite Valley” has been the crown jewel in that effort.
The greenies need the dams. They live in LA where they suck all of the water they need from other counties—leaving these other counties dry.
Hetch Hetchy will be there for awhile and left alone methinks.. draining it is just nuts,, and add to it , the Federal Judge who wants to save the smelt in the delta..
Western Water Wars continue.. so what else is new. ;-)
Republicans propose a dam
weenies “dams are bad, we hate you, arrrgh lets go pirate and smoke some dope”
Democrats or Rhinos propose dam
weenies, “ sounds good as long as we do a study of the wiffle back fart knocker albino sturgeon, and lets go smoke some dope”
I live in LA Bannie, and I’m sensitive to that issue. I do believe we take a lot of water from the rest of the state. I’d like to see a concerted effort to remedy that involving nuclear power plants and desalinization. If we got our act together, I think we could do a lot better developing our own water, and freeing up more for the rest of the state.
A nice byproduct would be more more electricity.
I tend to agree with that. I’m just surprised we don’t see more activists taking this issue on. Of course that’s fine by me, but they always seem to have a few extra bodies willing to make fools out of themselves.
I agree that LA should find another solution.
I hope that you’ll forgive me for saying that the temporary solution should not continue to be to take the water from other areas. LA yards are green and beautiful. Lone Pine yards are dirt, rocks and cactus—not because the residents WANT them to be that way.
Note to California: You got one of the longest coastlines in the world. Technology has progressed to the point where you can turn ocean salt water into fresh water. Build you a nuclear desalination plant and a pipeline, and tell the greenies to go suck a railroad spike.
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