Congress misses deadline to approve west-side water fix, but deal not unraveling yet

A key deadline has passed to solve the irrigation drainage problem that caused massive bird deaths and deformities at Kesterson wildlife refuge.

But a Westlands Water District official said Congress is still on track to pass legislation benefiting both the district, which delivers water to farms over an area the size of Rhode Island, and the federal government.

Jan. 15 was the deadline set last year by officials at the Justice Department and Westlands in which the district said it would take over the drainage headache from the federal government, and in exchange the government would forgive hundreds of millions of dollars owed to Uncle Sam.

Congress had to act by that deadline, but has not passed legislation approving the deal.

And if Congress failed to act by the deadline, either party could back out of the deal. But nobody has backed out yet, said Westlands deputy director Johnny Amaral, and he’s not expecting that.

“Neither party wants to,” he said. Rather, they will wait for Congress to act, he said.

The settlement between the two sides was reached under the Obama administration and counts as a bipartisan triumph, Amaral said.

“This agreement is one of the rare issues the Obama administration and the Trump administration agree on,” he said.

It came about after Westlands landowners sued the federal government for not providing “drainage services” as promised under federal law, prompting judges to order the government to make good on the obligation – while giving the parties time to make a deal.

In Congress, Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, sponsored the San Luis Unit Drainage Resolution Act, H.R. 1769, allowing the settlement to take effect. The bill was approved 25-16 last year by the Natural Resource Committee but it’s unclear when it might get voted on by Congress.

Some legislators complained last year the settlement is too favorable to Westlands.

“It doesn’t adequately protect the taxpayer,” said Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, “and it certainly doesn’t protect the environment of the interests of other water users.”

Without drainage, soil becomes poisoned by a buildup of salty water, a problem compounded when elements are picked up. In the mid-1980s, the accumulation of selenium-tainted water at Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in Merced County killed and deformed thousands of birds.

Only 82 miles of a planned 118-mile drain were built and it terminated at Kesterson. It would cost an estimated $3 billion to finish the drain.

Westlands owes about $375 million to the government as its share of building the Central Valley Project. It’s that debt that would be forgiven.

Under the deal, Westlands, which encompasses 600,000 acres, would also receive favorable new water contracts and would retire 100,000 acres. Westlands would manage water to minimize salt build up.

This story was originally published January 23, 2018 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Congress misses deadline to approve west-side water fix, but deal not unraveling yet."