Federal California Water Czar and State Water Lead appointed.
From Tracie Cone of AP:
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced several steps on Sunday that he hopes would ease the toll of the state’s water shortage on farmers, and said he would assign a top deputy to help find solutions.
At a spirited town hall meeting in California’s agricultural heartland, Salazar told a packed auditorium that Deputy Interior Secretary David J. Hayes will “bring all of the key federal agencies to the table” to coordinate efforts.
Salazar said he wanted to direct $160 million in Recovery Act funds for the federal Central Valley Project, which manages the dams and canals that move water around the state, and will expedite water transfers from other areas.
Members of the San Joaquin Valley congressional delegation told Salazar that three years of drought were forcing farmers to fallow hundreds of thousands of acres and to idle farmworkers.
“The time for meetings and talk is over,” said Rep. George Radanovich, R-Fresno. “We need action now.” Farmers packed into the auditorium at Cal State Fresno erupted into loud applause.
From the AP:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has appointed a new state coordinator on issues relating to the water shortages.
The appointment of Lester Snow on Monday comes a day after Interior Secretary Ken Salazar named his chief deputy, David Hayes, as the federal point person coordinating federal action on the state’s water problems.
Salazar says Hayes will work to hurry the permit process on projects that could expedite the flow of water through state and federal canals south of the troubled Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Schwarzenegger says Snow, of the Department of Water Resources, will coordinate work on long- and short-term fixes on the state government side.
Job loss on farms and in the fishing industry are spurring officials to act.
