Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/505233
ByScottSmithand Janie Har TheAssociatedPress OAKLAND Gov. Jerry Brown defended newly un- veiled plans on Thursday that call for dramatically scaling back the amount of habitat restoration done while twin tunnels are built around California's fresh- water delta to deliver wa- ter to farms and millions of people throughout the state. Brown said the new ap- proach accelerates the pace of the critical wildlife hab- itat restoration that will be done and fixes the state's aging water infrastructure. The Brown administra- tion is overhauling its envi- ronmental plans as it pur- sues building the tunnels under the Sacrament-San Joaquin Delta. The revision calls for re- storing 30,000 acres for wetland and wildlife hab- itat — down from 100,000 acres. Brown called it the best path forward. "We can't just cross our fingers, hoping for the best in the delta," Brown said. "Fish populations are at an all-time low. Bold action is imperative." The amount of land tar- geted for environmental improvements changed be- cause there was too much complexity in the origi- nal 50-year plan, given the need for permits from federal wildlife agencies against a backdrop of un- certain future effects of cli- mate change, said Chuck Bonham, director of Cali- fornia's Department of Fish and Wildlife. The state is entering its fourth year of drought with mandatory water re- strictions for residents, and many farmers are receiving little or no surface water for irrigation from government water projects. The original upgrades were expected to cost $8 billion, and officials said the new plans announced Thursday will cost about $300 million. "We need to restore hab- itat in the delta," Bonham said. "We've known that for a long time. There's no dis- pute there. Let's get going and do it." Environmental and con- servation groups criticized the plan. Under development for eight years, the Bay Delta Conservation Plan calls for building two underground tunnels, 40 feet across and 30 miles long, to send water from the Sacramento River around the delta. The wa- ter currently irrigates 3 million acres of farmland in the Central Valley and serves 25 million people as far south as San Diego. The projected cost of the tun- nels is $15 billion. The plan, supported by Brown, is designed to sta- bilize water supplies for cities and farms south of the delta. But it has drawn strong opposition from delta farmers and environ- mentalists, who contend that the tunnels will allow saltwater from San Fran- cisco Bay to degrade the delta's water quality and damage habitat for endan- gered salmon and tiny delta smelt. State officials decided to split their plans for the delta into two parts — the con- struction of the tunnels and efforts to restore wildlife habitat along waterways. "Separating them doesn't change the science," said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Re- store the Delta and a critic of the plan. "The tunnels are going to leave us with a permanent drought in the delta." Only about 5 percent of California's wetlands re- main. Restoration projects will return at least some of the freshwater marshes and willow thickets, with trees along the water pro- viding both food and shade to young fish, Bonham said, noting the effort will mark a "decisive break from the obstacles of the past." "There are skeptics, of course, on anything that's bold," he said. "Make no mistake, the hardest water issue in California is about our infrastructure and our ecosystem in the delta." The new approach doesn't come with 50-year permits, which was a goal of the previous plan be- cause that would shield central and Southern Cali- fornia water agencies from future cutbacks of delta wa- ter for endangered species protection. Bonham said the state couldn't achieve the longer approvals and now is seeking permits of 10 years or less. A spokeswoman for Westlands Water District, a large provider of water to Central Valley farmers, de- clined to comment until the official announcement. Bonham said the scaled- back habitat restoration is more realistic to achieve in the remaining four years of the governor's term. He said it is unclear who will be leading the effort decades from now and what impact climate change will have on California's water picture or environmental regulations. Bill Jennings, executive director of California Sport- fishing Protection Alliance, said any water transported around the delta will only exacerbate poor water qual- ity. "Habitat isn't simply acreage," he said. "Habitat is adequate water and wa- ter quality." Funds for the restoration effort will come from a vari- ety of sources, with $75 mil- lion from a water bond vot- ers approved in November, officials said. Between $20 million and $30 million will come from cap-and-trade funds, and the rest will come through state budget allocations. DROUGHT Br ow n de fe nd s cu ts t o we tl an d restoration near tunnels RICHPEDRONCELLI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Gov. Jerry Brown talks with reporters a er a meeting about the drought at his Capitol office in Sacramento. By Don Thompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO The state Department of Justice will miss its deadline to end a backlog in a pro- gram unique to Califor- nia that seizes guns from people who are prohibited from having them. State lawmakers gave the department $24 mil- lion in 2013 after officials said the money would let them end a backlog of nearly 20,000 prohibited persons within three years. Stephen Lindley, who heads the department's Bureau of Firearms, told lawmakers at a hearing Thursday that he has had trouble hiring and retain- ing enough agents to do the work. He says that at the cur- rent rate the problem will continue one or two years past next year's deadline. The backlog is still more than 16,000 gun owners. However, Lindley says it would have climbed to about 28,000 without the extra money. GUN CONTROL Ag en ts w il l miss deadline to remove illegally owned weapons DelOroWaterCo.: Per capita daily usage 134.3 gallons; reduction target 28percent or 37.6gallons per person per day. South Feather Water and Power Agency: Per capita daily usage 466.1 gallons; reduction target 36percent or 167.8gallons per person per day. Willows District, Cali- fornia Water Service Co.: Per capita daily usage 168.6gallons; re- duction target 28percent or 47.2gallons per person per day. Marysville District, California Water Service Co.: Per capita daily usage 125.5gallons; reduction target 24percent or 30.1 gallons per person per day. Yuba City: Per capita daily usage 188.2gallons; re- duction target 32percent or 60.2gallons per person per day. Daily use is an average for July through Septem- ber of 2014. The full list can be viewed at http://ti- nyurl.com/qypab32. Drought FROM PAGE 1 By Martha Mendoza The Associated Press Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe started a three- day visit to California on Thursday with plans to check out tech innovations, lend support to expanded commercial ties and even promote a Japanese-made bullet train during a meet- ing with the governor. During a speech at Stan- ford, Abe said Japan needs to emulate Silicon Valley style, risk and innovation. "We would like to cap- ture the dynamism of Sil- icon Valley," he said while announcing plans to send representatives from 200 Japanese companies to "sail into the rough waves" of the region during the next five years. He compared the effort to Japan sending baseball play- ers to major league baseball teams. His country also will send 30 entrepreneurs to pitch ideas to Silicon Valley in- vestors. Abe said he plans to meet with Google and Facebook executives and visit elec- tric carmaker Tesla Motors, which is building electric cars in a plant first opened by General Motors more than 50 years ago. Later in the day, the Japanese leader will head to San Francisco and in- vite Gov. Jerry Brown to try a bullet train simula- tor that Abe brought on his trip, said Takako Ito, a foreign ministry spokes- woman. Brownispushinga$68bil- lion high-speed rail project in California to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles. Abe's itinerary also in- cludes a discussion with business leaders at a resort on Sand Hill Road, a busy stretch of street known as the epicenter of tech ven- ture-capital companies that have launched Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and other tech giants. "This Japanese admin- istration has been focus- ing on changing its econ- omy to a growth-based sys- tem built on innovation," said Japanese economic re- searcher Takeo Hoshi, a se- nior fellow at Stanford Uni- versity's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. "This is probably the best place in the world to look at that." The region is home to Google, Apple and other leading tech firms that help drive the U.S. economy. Av- erage annual employee earnings were $116,000, compared with $61,000 nationally. Venture capital- ists invested $14.5 billion in businesses, and 76,450 new jobs were created. During his three-day visit to California, Abe will also meet with Japanese-Amer- icans in San Francisco and Los Angeles, encourage Japanese students who are studyingin the state, and an- nounce policies to facilitate U.S. investment in Japan. Abe planned to meet re- searchers later Thursday, including Japanese No- bel-winning stem cell re- searcher Shinya Yamanaka at the University of Califor- nia, San Francisco-affiliated Gladstone Institute. Earlier in the week, Abe made the Washington, D.C., rounds with a White House dinner and address to Con- gress. While on Capitol Hill, he declared "history is harsh" and offered condolences for Americans who died in World War II. He stopped short of of- fering an apology sought by U.S. lawmakers for Japanese conduct during the war, in- cluding sexual enslavement of tens of thousands of Asian women by Japan's imperial army. About 50 people pro- tested outside the audito- rium in Stanford where Abe spoke Thursday, chant- ing "Abe go home!" and car- rying signs that called him a "war crime denier." Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington con- tributed to this story from Washington. Associated Press writer Olga Rodriguez contributed to this story from San Francisco. TECH INNOVATION Prime minister wants Japan to learn from Silicon Valley TONY AVELAR — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center, waves to the audience a er speaking with former Secretary of State George Shultz, le , and Stanford University President John Hennessy, right, during the Silicon Valley Japan Innovation Program at Stanford University on Thursday in Stanford C a l l 8 7 7- 4 D A D 4 11 o r v i s i t w w w . f a t h e r h o o d . g o v be a dad today. Take time to By Scott Smith and Kristin J. Bender The Associated Press FRESNO A massive fire at a power pole yard in Fresno shot flames and smoke into the sky Thurs- day, and it could take a full day to bring the blaze under control, authorities said. There are few fire hy- drants in the unpopu- lated, industrial area, so crews had to cut across private property and rail- road tracks to get water, Fresno Fire Department spokesman Pete Marti- nez said. Firefighters are pumping up to 3,000 gal- lons a minute to douse the flames amid a historic drought in California that is forcing water restric- tions on residents. Before the fire started, there were between 400 and 1,000 wooden power poles owned by Pacific Gas and Electric on the 2-acre yard, Martinez said. Crews have moved away an un- known amount of undam- aged poles to try to con- tain the blaze, he said. Damage is estimated at $1 to 3 million, and its cause is under investiga- tion, he said. The poles burned with such intensity that motor- ists along a nearby street said they could feel heat radiating through their windshields. Some driv- ers pulled off the road to snap pictures with their cellphones. There are no reports of injuries, and the clos- est homes are 2 to 3 miles away, Martinez said. The fire may periodi- cally affect air quality in Fresno, Kings, Tulare and the valley portion of Kern counties, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Con- trol District said. A "health caution" is in place until the fire is extinguished. The fire will generate fine particulates that can cause problems for people with respiratory condi- tions, young children and elderly people, the air dis- trict said. "It's one of those things where any smoke is haz- ardous but the winds are blowing a lot of the smoke into the atmosphere," Mar- tinez said. The fire was first re- ported at 3:45 a.m. along State Route 99 north- west of downtown, and at least two dozen fire- fighters working from a dozen trucks and engines are fighting it. Motor- ists should avoid the area near Brawley Avenue and Golden State Boulevard. Bender reported from San Francisco. BLAZE Flames chew through up to 1,000 power poles The Associated Press MEADOW VISTA A North- ern California man says he sucker-punched a trespass- ing bear on the snout to send the bruin fleeing from his property. Carl Moore tells the Au- burn Journal he acted on his boxer instincts when the bear rose up on two legs and turned toward him andhistwodogsoutsidehis Meadow Vista home. The 75-year-old says he boxed competitively in his youth and also waded into his fair share of fights as a bouncer. The hard-to-believe en- counter was witnessed by two friends and employees of Moore, who were inside his house when he encoun- tered the bear on April 20. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Man says he punched a trespassing bear FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2015 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 9 A