More Valley Water Urged: Schwarzenegger Makes Pitch for New Dams in His State of the State Speech.

By E.J. Schultz, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Jan. 10–SACRAMENTO — Answering the pleas of Valley cities and farmers, Gov. Schwarzenegger proposed a plan to increase the state’s water supply in his State of the State speech Tuesday.

The $6.5 billion proposal, which could include money for a San Joaquin River reservoir, is part of a $43.3 billion borrowing plan that also includes money for prisons, courts and schools.

In announcing the ambitious plan, the governor said he wants to continue the construction boom launched last year through the approval of $42.7 billion in public works bonds for roads, schools, levees, parks and housing.

“We are a big state and we have big needs. And we have made a big down payment. But the job is not finished,” he said in his speech. “We still have more roads to build, more schools to construct, more universities to equip to keep up with the future.”

But while the school- and court-building might prove popular, the water proposal could face an uphill fight in a Democratic-controlled Legislature that has shown no interest in debating, let alone approving, state money for dams.

“Water storage is not going to happen,” said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, kept the door open — however slightly.

“I, for one, am not saying no way, no time, no place will there be a dam — I am saying that we have to explore all opportunities,” he said, listing water conservation as one alternative.

Schwarzenegger, who in Friday’s inauguration speech heralded a new era of “post-partisan” cooperation, offered all things to all lawmakers in his State of the State address.

He promised Democrats more research into alternative energy and highlighted a new plan to reduce carbon levels in fuels.

He pledged to Republicans that his budget — to be released today — will “dramatically reduce” the deficit, estimated now to be about $5 billion.

Meanwhile, he continued to advance the image that California is a “nation state” with unmatched economic strength.

Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines, R-Clovis, was encouraged by the bipartisan tone of the governor’s speech.

But Villines, a strong advocate for water storage, has concerns about the overall size of the new public works proposal.

“In terms of all of this borrowing … we need to take a step back,” he said. “We need to see, are we able to do it, can we do it, in terms of the budget.”

The governor’s “strategic growth package” — outlined by officials before the speech — would place $29.4 billion worth of bonds on the 2008 and 2010 ballots. A $2 billion bond would be used to build new courthouses and $23.1 billion would be borrowed for school, college and university projects.

The remaining funding would come from types of bonds that don’t require voter approval.

Left out of the strategic growth plan is the long-planned high-speed rail project, an omission that Valley lawmakers said they would fight.

A $4 billion water supply bond would go before voters in 2008. Another $500 million would be borrowed for groundwater storage.

The state’s top two choices for dams are Temperance Flat, which is along the San Joaquin River upstream of Millerton Lake, and a site on the west side of the Sacramento Valley called Sites Reservoir.

Under the plan, the borrowing would only go forward if local water users chip in about an additional $2 billion.

“The governor’s recognition of the ongoing water needs of the state with respect to water supplies, water quality and for environmental purposes — that’s greatly appreciated,” said Ron Jacobsma, general manager of the Friant Water Users Authority, the agency representing thousands of east Valley growers who irrigate with river water.

He said users would be willing to chip in. However, environmentalist disagree, saying no water users would be willing to pay.

Democratic leaders have long opposed using state money to build new dams, citing environmental concerns.

Administration officials are billing the projects as environmentally friendly, citing benefits such as flood control.

“We’re not talking about high dams on wild and scenic rivers,” said Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, who will be the administration’s lead negotiator on the water legislation.

The governor also used his speech to tout ideas he has presented in recent days and weeks:

On his $10.9 billion jail and prison construction proposal: “Here are the court-ordered choices we face: We build more prisons or we release criminals.”

On his $12 billion plan to bring medical insurance to the nearly 7 million Californians without it: “In the past health care reform was always dead on arrival. But this year I feel something different in the air.”

On his plan to strip lawmakers of the power to draw their own political districts: “No state legislature in U.S. history has put a redistricting reform on the ballot. California can be the leader.”

Assembly Member Bill Maze, R-Visalia, said Schwarzenegger’s centrist politics are leaning a bit to the political left, especially his health care plan, which would force some employers to offer coverage or pay fees.

“This is not centrist,” he said.

Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, praised the governor’s plan to reduce carbon levels in fuel.

The executive order, announced Tuesday, would reduce fuel carbon levels by at least 10% by 2020 — a goal that could bring a windfall to the Valley’s burgeoning ethanol industry.

But Florez was concerned about the omission of the high-speed rail project. As envisioned, the rail line would cut through the Central Valley, including Fresno, as it speeds across the state.

But Schwarzenegger administration officials said Tuesday that the proposal was not a priority.

A $9.95 billion high-speed rail bond is scheduled to be taken up by the voters in 2008.

Florez said it would require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to remove the bond and that he would fight such a move: “You can’t say you’re for cleaning the air and then scuttle high-speed rail.”

The reporter can be reached at eschultz@fresnobee.com or(916) 326-5541.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

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