Senate passes Emergency Drought Relief Act

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Democrats and Republicans appear to be coming together on drought relief for the Central Valley.

Senator Dianne Feinstein's Emergency Drought Relief Act passed the Senate and is heading for the House.

The Emergency Drought Relief Act won unanimous support in the Senate. California Senator Dianne Feinstein described the legislations as just the first step, and said:

"The next step is working with the House to determine what measures we can agree on to improve water supplies. My hope is that this process can proceed quickly and bypass many of the controversial issues that have been raised in the past."

Congressman Jim Costa of Fresno says the legislation won't provide immediate relief, but says if Republicans will go along, it will keep more water in the system, when it comes.

"I look forward to working with my colleagues on a bi-partisan basis so that hopefully if we get some rain this fall, this winter, we will have the operational flexibility in place so that the water we lost in March of this year will not reoccur," said Costa.

Republican Congressman David Valadao of Hanford also sees this legislation as a chance to get something done.

"I think the senator has done a great job. She's introduced a bill, she's delivered it, and she wants to have conference with us in the House and this is all we've been asking for," said Valadao.

Feinstein's bill has won the endorsement of the California Farm Bureau Federation and the Friant Water Users Authority.

But outside the Valley, the legislation is getting a less enthusiastic reaction. Some environmental groups are saying Feinstein's call to be more flexible means less water for fish in the Delta.

Feinstein's bill calls for tweaks in the system not changes in environmental protection laws. It reads:

"Federal agencies must provide maximum water supplies possible from Delta pumping while remaining consistent with the Endangered Species Act and biological opinions for both smelt and salmon."

While both Valadao and Costa have supported actual changes in federal law, both realize that's not going to happen and see this legislation as a compromise to get something done.

"I would like to do a lot of things in the legislative package, but I am practical enough to know that getting enough flexibility in this system to bring more water than we were able to bring this year is far better than doing nothing," Costa told Action News.

"This is an opportunity for us to work together and come up with legislation we can all agree on and put on the president's desk," said Valadao.

Attempts will now be made to make compromises between the Senate bill and the House version of drought relief that has already passed. However, no legislation can relieve the immediate drought conditions on agriculture. The goal is to capture more water over the winter, in the event the drought continues next year.