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<br />SignOnSanDiego.com > News> Special Reports -- Imperial's decision <br /> <br />Page 7 of7 <br /> <br />To save the sea, the parties developed a plan that included the potential <br />for idling land. That, in turn, could sink the new deal. <br /> <br />Western states by this time had agreed to give California until the end <br />of 2002 to seal a deal to reduce its Colorado River draw over 15 years - <br />a soft landing for a state on a collision course with a self-inflicted water <br />crisis. <br /> <br />Despite the stakes, talks floundered. <br /> <br />In October, then-Assemblyman Rob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, brought <br />negotiators to Los Angeles for around-the-clock meetings. Tough talk <br />from Hertzberg, including what some contend were implied threats of <br />cutting state funds, infuriated Imperial, negotiators said. <br /> <br />Some of the district's members were "ready to walk out," said Silva, <br />Imperial's general manager. "But cooler heads prevailed." <br /> <br />San Diego, Metropolitan and Coachella have endorsed the outline of <br />the water sale, putting Imperial in a corner. <br /> <br />If the deal collapses, Interior Secretary Gail Norton has threatened to <br />unilaterally reduce California's draw of the river by 800,000 acre-feet <br />after Dec. 31. Norton repeated her ultimatum just before Thanksgiving, <br />telling the state's water brokers: <br /> <br />"There are no time outs left." <br /> <br />Site Index I Contact SignOn I UTads.com I About SignOn I Advertise on SignOn I Make SignOn your home page <br />About the Union-Tribune I Contact the Union-Tribune <br /> <br />@Copyright 2002 Union-Tribune Publishing Co, <br /> <br />http://www.signonsandiego.comlnews/reports/water/20021208-9999- water.html <br /> <br />12/10/02 <br />