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ByScottSmith The Associated Press FRESNO Land in Califor- nia's Central Valley is sink- ing so much from over- pumping of groundwater during the drought that of- ficials said Thursday they will press for new laws to limit drilling. The sinking threatens to curtail as much as one-fifth of water deliveries through the vital California Aque- duct to San Joaquin Val- ley farms and millions of Southern California resi- dents, state water manag- ers said. They cited NASA satellite images that show the land dropping in places by as much as a foot a year. In 2014, lawmakers ap- proved legislation ending a Gold Rush-era policy that generally let property own- ers pump as much water as they wanted. However, the law gave local agencies un- til 2040 to fully implement groundwater plans. "Considering the dam- age we've seen now, we can't wait until 2040," said Jeanine Jones, a California Department of Water Re- sources manager. The California Aque- duct stretches 444 miles from the San Joaquin-Sac- ramento River Delta east of San Francisco to South- ern California, providing water to 25 million people and nearly a million acres of farmland. Sections of the con- crete canal have dropped more than two feet in some places, officials say. The NASA images also show the separate Delta- Mendota Canal in the val- ley has dropped 22 inches, threatening supplies to two million residents and three million acres of farmland, officials say. Jones said the satellite images show thousands of existing wells within a few miles of low areas. The state Department of Water Resources said it would like the Legislature to give it authority to estab- lish zones where pumping is limited, she said. Signs of the sinking land have been visible since the 1920s. In the current drought, farmers in the ag- riculturally rich San Joa- quin Valley relied heavily on well water because little rain and snow had fallen to fill reservoirs. Chris White, general manager of the Central California Irrigation Dis- trict, said he would prefer a more targeted approach be- cause each problem caused by over-pumping is unique. He said his district has spent $7 million to repair a buckling canal and a water- logged bridge. "A big part of this answer is not adopting legislation that handles this in a one- size shoe fits all feet," said White, adding that he had not reviewed he state's lat- est plan. "They will require understanding each of the specific problems and devel- oping the solutions." GROUNDWATER Ca lif or ni a' s si nk in g la nd threatens vital water canals SCOTTSMITH—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE A buckle in the lining of the Delta Mendota Canal caused by sinking land near Dos Palos. By Erica Werner and Ken Thomas The Associated Press WASHINGTON President Donald Trump lobbied Democrats and Republi- cans to back his Supreme Court nominee on Thurs- day even as he escalated his attacks against one of their Senate colleagues for disclosing that Judge Neil Gorsuch found the presi- dent's criticism of the ju- diciary "demoralizing and disheartening." In a day of political whiplash, Trump insisted that Democratic Sen. Rich- ard Blumenthal "misrep- resented" comments from Gorsuch, who expressed misgivings about the pres- ident's attacks on a judge. Gorsuch's comments were first reported by Blu- menthal, but were subse- quently confirmed by two other senators who heard versions of the same thing, and verified by the White House-appointed han- dlers shepherding Gorsuch around Capitol Hill. Nevertheless, sitting at a White House lunch be- tween two of Blumenthal's Democratic colleagues, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Trump took the opportunity of a shouted question from a reporter to lash out at Blumenthal, dredging up a years-old controversy in which the former Marine Corps reservist apologized for falsely saying he had served in Vietnam. "What you should do is ask Sen. Blumenthal about his Vietnam record that didn't exist after years of saying it did. Ask Sen. Blu- menthal about his Vietnam record," Trump said. "He misrepresented that just like he misrepresented Judge Gorsuch." Blumenthal, D-Conn., defended himself in a se- ries of interviews on Thursday, insisting that he had correctly charac- terized Gorsuch's reaction to Trump's attacks against a "so-called judge," as the president described the Se- attle judge who put a stay on his refugee travel ban. "This issue is way big- ger than me or even Judge Gorsuch's nomination," Blumenthal told The As- sociated Press when asked about Trump lashing out at him. "What's at stake is the independence and in- tegrity of the court system and a core constitutional principle — the indepen- dence and integrity of our judiciary." Trump's complaints about what Blumenthal said Gorsuch said came even as other Democrats of- fered their own complaints about Gorsuch's reported comments, albeit for totally different reasons. With the White House hunting for eight Democratic votes to get Gorsuch across a con- firmation hurdle in the Sen- ate, Democrats accused the judge of participating in a White House "ruse" to pretend to be indepen- dent from the president by claiming to be demoralized by his attacks on the judi- ciary. "This is clearly a mean- ingless White House or- chestrated attempt to help Judge Gorsuch pre- tend he won't be a rubber stamp for the Trump ad- ministration," said Zac Pet- kanas, senior adviser at the Democratic National Com- mittee. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said on the Senate floor of Gorsuch: "What he did does not show indepen- dence. It shows a desire to appear independent." It was not clear whether Trump made much head- way in his lunch with sen- ators including Heitkamp, Manchin, No. 2 Senate Re- publican John Cornyn of Texas, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and others. Heitkamp and Manchin emerged to speak of a productive meeting that touched on topics in- cluding infrastructure and opioid abuse, but they re- fused to address the awk- wardness of sitting by as the president gave a col- league a tongue-lashing. Trump seemed particu- larly interested in making nice with Manchin, the one Democrat to vote for his attorney general nom- inee Sen. Jeff Sessions, go- ing in for a hug at the start of the lunch and opening his remarks by thanking Manchin "for having the courage to vote for some- body who's really very out- standing." SUPREME COURT Trump woos senators on Gorsuch, escalates against Democrat By Ricardo Alonso- Zaldivar and Kevin S. Vineys The Associated Press WASHINGTON More than 12.2 million people have signed up for coverage nationwide this year un- der the Obama-era health care law even with the un- certainty created by Presi- dent Donald Trump's vow to repeal and replace it. A count by The Asso- ciated Press shows that many consumers returned to the program despite its problems. Aside from the political turmoil, those difficulties include a spike in premiums, rising de- ductibles and dwindling choice of insurers. Although initial enroll- ment is about 4 percent lower than last year, the sizable number of sign-ups illustrates the risk Repub- licans face as they begin moving to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and put in its place a yet-to- be-defined conservative approach. AP's analysis showed that a clear majority of those enrolled — nearly 64 percent — live in states that Trump carried in No- vember. "If they are going to re- place it, it had better be as good or better than what is there, and if it's not I think it's going to cost them," said John Chip- man, a drummer from Austin, Texas, who's also covering his wife and their two children. This year the family scaled back from a "silver" plan to "bronze" to avoid a big premium increase. But without the health law, Chipman says he and his wife would probably be turned down for health in- surance because of pre-ex- isting medical conditions. The federal Health and Human Services Depart- ment reported last week that 9.2 million people signed up in the 39 states served by the HealthCare. gov website, which offers subsidized private health insurance to people who don't have job-based cov- erage. AP checked with the remaining 11 states, and Washington, D.C., and found an additional 3 million enrolled, for a na- tional total of 12.2 million. A full national report from the government won't be available for at least an- other month. Under the health care law, the nation's unin- sured rate has fallen to a historic low of about 9 percent, with some 20 million people gaining coverage since its pas- sage in 2010. In addition to the subsidized private plans available through HealthCare.gov and state marketplaces, the law of- fers states the option of extending Medicaid to cover more low-income adults. Republicans say this year's enrollment num- bers do not equate to a success story for former President Barack Obama's signature domestic legis- lation. To begin with, the num- bers are well short of the 13.8 million people that the Obama administra- tion had hoped to sign up. Also, the public health in- surance markets usually see high attrition as the year goes on, with about 1 in 5 customers eventually dropping out. Some cus- tomers don't even bother to pay their first month's premium. "It's clear overall enroll- ment numbers are trend- ing downward for 'Obam- acare' over last year, no doubt due to the law's un- popular mandates and high costs," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a statement. Republicans "are committed to estab- lishing a responsible tran- sition phase to ensure as much stability as possible for consumers who pur- chased insurance." Asked about the num- bers, HHS spokesman Matt Lloyd said the Trump administration sees "Obamacare" as a failure and is pursuing al- ternatives that will "work for the American people." One state — Minne- sota — took extraordi- nary measures to keep residents insured. The state has seen premium increases averaging from 50 percent to 67 percent, and lawmakers used $312 million in rainy day funds to buy down monthly rates for consumers who don't get federal subsidies. Since most health law cus- tomers already get federal assistance, the bulk of the state money is going to residents who purchase plans outside the govern- ment-sponsored market- place. COVERAGE Wi th h ea lt h la w in j eo pa rd y, more than 12M still sign up FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2017 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 3 B