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program; and subject agriculture water delivery contracts to a reasonable 

 process of environmental review in order to insure contract renewals are 

 consistent with fishery protection and restoration goals and objectives. 

 Other CVPIA provisions establish minimum fishery maintenance flows in 

 the Trinity River, which flows through our county, and a procedure for 

 future upward adjustments if warranted by findings of the 1996 Flow 

 Decision. 



We are aware that you have introduced HR 1906, a bill which would 

 amend the CVPIA in a multitude of very fundamental ways. An analysis of 

 the bill reveals that the bill-which, by the way, we understand was 

 authored by the Central Valley Project Water Association-would eliminate 

 or neutralize what we consider to be the Act's most important elements. 

 In regard to the Trinity River amendments, proposed changes would make 

 establishment of essential Trinity River fishery maintenance flows more 

 problematic by injecting an additional, redundant bureaucratic layer of 

 review into the process and severely limit the ability of area of origin 

 counties to successfully ajudicate the 1996 Flow Decision. 



Other fishery damaging amendments proposed in HR 1906 would: 



• Literally define out of existence the 800,000 acre feet of water 

 dedicated to fisheries restoration (except for water required to meet 

 new Bay-Delta standards). 



• Eliminate the anadromous fisheries doubling program required by the 

 CVPIA. 



• Kill the San Joaquin River Comprehensive Plan required by the CVPIA. 

 This plan would merely study options to partially or fully restore the 

 now-dry upper San Joaquin River, just below Friant Dam. Some of these 

 options would result in no reduction of water to Friant water users. 

 The Act did not authorize any release of water to implement the Plan 

 without explicit Congressional action. H.R. 1906 would also override 

 state law and prevent the state from ever considering San Joaquin 

 River restoration. 



• Delete the requirement that 2/3 of the CVPIA restoration fund be used 

 for habitat restoration such as purchasing water for the environment. 

 The amendment would allow all of the fund to be used for facilities 

 which primarily benefit CVP contractors, rather than the environment. 

 Reducing the ability of the fund to purchase environmental water would 



