243 



United States House of Representatives 



Committee on Resources 



Subcommittee on Water and Power Resources 



The Honorable John Doolittie, Chairman 



Statement of the Central Valley Project Water Association 



20 July 1995 



Washington, DC 



The federal Central Valley Project (CVP) serves agricultural, municipal and industrial 

 water customers throughout the Central Valley of California from Redding to Bakersfield. CVP 

 contractors have a responsibility to provide reliable and afifordable water service to over 20,000 

 farms on three million acres of the nation's most productive farmland, and to two milhoD 

 households and mdustrial water users. Meeting these responsibilities is the most critical charge to 

 the CVFs contractor/customers. However, in addition to water service and flood control the 

 CVP (a multi-purpose project) has significant environmental obligations - chiefly and most 

 recently, those enumerated and outlined in the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992 

 (P.L. 102-575, title 34; "CVPIA") and the 15 December 1994 Bay/Delta principles agreement. 



Having closely participated m literally hundreds of "interest-group" meetings and two and 

 one-half years of attempts at interpretation and implementation by the responsible federal agencies 

 (primarily the Bureau of Reclamation and Fish and Wildhfe Service), it is abundantly clear that 

 additional direction is necessary to make the CVPIA work efficiently and properly. While there 

 may be existing authority to make or establish CVPIA implementation directions at the 

 administrative level, there are clearly areas where additional authority or changes m current 

 legislative mandates are required if the CVPIA is to be efficiently and appropriately implemented. 

 Further, even where there is existmg authority to take action or make poUcy with regard to 

 CVPIA implementation, the federal agencies have been rehictant to act accordingly due to lack of 

 clear Congressional narrative (report language) establishing what is meant/was mtended by certain 

 CVPIA provisions. 



HR 1906 maintains the spirit and substance of the CVPIA with respect to environmental 

 protection, restoration and mitigation. At the same time, it also clearly excises those provisions of 

 the CVPIA which are patently punitive m nature and have no mtended or reasonably expected 

 environmental benefit. In essence, amending the CVPIA through the provisions of HR 1906 will 

 provide the foimdation necessary for timely and efficient implementation of environmental 

 improvements to CVP facilities and operations and will achieve a proper balance among the 

 Project's purposes and obligations. For these fundamental reasons and for those outlmed below, 

 we appreciate the Subcommittee's attention to the critical issues addressed by this legislation and 

 strongly support passage of HR 1906. 



CVPWA Statement Page 1 - 20 July 1995 



