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<br />DOl official to meet with Calif. agencies <br /> <br />Page 1 of1 <br /> <br /> <br />E&E PUBLISHING E&E DAilY GREENWIRE LAND LETTER <br /> <br />001 official to meet with Calif. agencies <br /> <br />WATER <br />Greenwire <br />03/11/2003 <br /> <br />Assistant Interior Secretary Bennett Raley is scheduled to join closed-door negotiations tomorrow <br />with four Southern California water districts to discuss a Colorado River water-sharing deal. <br /> <br />California Gov. Gray Davis (D) convened the meetings in January to hammer out an agreement <br />that would restore the state's Colorado River water supply, which the Department of Interior <br />reduced on New Year's Day after the water districts failed to reach an agreement. The Imperial <br />Irrigation District -- the state's biggest user of Colorado River water -- failed to sign a proposed <br />deal in December 2002 in which San Diego would have paid it $250 per acre foot for a water <br />transfer (Green wire , Dec. 10,2002). The liD says it must be protected from financial <br />responsibility of Salton Sea environmental problems. Joining the liD, the San Diego County <br />Water Authority, the Coachella Valley Water District and the Metropolitan Water District of <br />Southern California asked the state for $350 million in state funding to cover potential <br />environmental damages to the land-locked lake that would result from reducing the agricultural <br />runoff it depends upon (Greenwire, Jan. 23). <br /> <br />Davis spokesman Byron Tucker declined to say whether Raley's visit signals a new agreement <br />by the water agencies but said, "Clearly, we view this as a positive development." <br /> <br />Representatives from the liD were not invited to the talks because it is suing the Interior <br />Department to restore its take of the Colorado River (Seth Hettena, AP/Oakland Tribune, March <br />11). -- LM <br /> <br />ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY DAILY. GREENWIRE . LAND LETTER. E&E PUBLISHING, LLC <br /> <br />~!E I'l BLISI![\(; LLC <br /> <br />122 C. St. NW, Ste. 722 Washington, D.C. 20001 <br />E-mail: pubs@eenews.net ' Phone: 202-628-6500 <br />All contents @ 2003 E&E Publishing. llC. <br /> <br />http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/searcharchive/test_search-display.cgi?q=Colorado+ Riv... 3/13/2003 <br />