It keeps chugging along, and once completed, can help reinforce the case that good dam management can really help the salmon, in this case, returning them from the extinction the dam created.
The solution is often in the problem.
River restoration plan passes Senate panel
By Michael Doyle - mdoyle@mcclatchydc.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, May 8, 2008
WASHINGTON – A key Senate committee on Wednesday handily approved a revised but still ambitious bill to restore the San Joaquin River.
Following months of tinkering and political maneuvering, lawmakers quickly embraced the river restoration effort. The Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee's approval by a bipartisan 15-7 margin builds momentum, while not eliminating all resistance.
"Bottom line: This legislation can help resolve one of the oldest water disputes in the West," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said after the committee's approval.
The bill authorizes work to improve the parched river channel below Friant Dam so more water can be released and salmon reintroduced. The bill has a federal price tag of roughly $190 million, although calculating the full cost of river restoration is very complicated.
"I see this as a huge federal commitment and expense that has a lot of implications and consequences," cautioned Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., also warning of a "pretty heavy cost to taxpayers."
