Commission blasts Bay Delta Authority
"We've had four years of drift and indecision," said Daniel Hancock, a member of the Little Hoover Commission. The California Bay-Delta Authority was created by state lawmakers in 2003 to oversee the state and federal Bay-Delta Program, otherwise known as CalFed. The landmark initiative begun a decade ago was intended to end fights over water use and ensure the health of the largest estuary on the West Coast. But the agency lacks the authority and direction it needs to mediate disputes among 25 state and federal agencies, water districts, farmers, fishermen and environmental groups that have an interest in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, commissioners concluded in a report to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state legislators. "In recent years, the program also has demonstrated the propensity for rudderless bureaucracies to get caught in inescapable eddies," the commission's report states. The commission accepted the report Thursday and forwarded it to the governor's office and Legislature. In May, Schwarzenegger ordered three independent reviews of the CalFed program after state lawmakers initially threatened to cut part of the Bay-Delta Authority's $8 million budget. The Little Hoover report said the authority should be replaced with a group of public officials that would be chaired by the U.S. Interior secretary and the California resources secretary. They would share the responsibility of making decisions for the state and federal governments. During a meeting Thursday, commission members said the state needs a comprehensive water policy to direct the efforts of government agencies that now often have competing goals. They also urged hiring of a new lead scientist and creation of an independent science board after the previous lead scientist quit this spring during the budget dispute. Some commission members said they fear the federal government won't pay its share for CalFed but said the state must proceed with changes regardless. "We're going to have to make this work. We drink the water, the fish are in our ecosystem, the levees protect our property," commission Chairman Michael Alpert said. "This is one of the most fundamental problems the state is facing." The commission's recommendations and criticisms echo many of those of Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman, Schwarzenegger spokesman Bill Maile said: "The administration plans to closely review the recommendations as we move toward improving CalFed to better answer the state's water needs." The state Finance Department issued a less sweeping report Tuesday, giving CalFed mixed grades. The program has done a good job on some environmental and water storage goals, the department said, but has failed to increase water shipments and protect the 1,000-mile system of levees, which could collapse in an earthquake. A third review by an independent consultant is due next month. http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/13200360.htm © 2005 ContraCostaTimes.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. |