ACWA Executive Director Testifies at Little Hoover Commission; Steve Hall Addresses CALFED Governance in Today's Remarks.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- In the second of three hearings to evaluate the governance of the CALFED program and the California Bay-Delta Authority (CBDA), Association of California Water Agencies Executive Director Steve Hall today presented testimony to the Little Hoover Commission.

"I remain a believer in the concept of CALFED as one who can testify to its accomplishments and as one who believes reforms are urgently needed if it is to survive and fulfill its promise," Hall told the commissioners.

"The most significant point about the formation of CALFED is that it took the leadership of people at the highest levels of state and federal government to overcome the strong gravitational pull that has historically kept the respective state and federal agencies in their own orbits," said Hall. "We have bowed to the god of consensus and have not gotten results."

Hall, involved in the process for almost two decades, recommended a series of reforms pertaining to coordination, oversight, and policy. Specific reforms include:

1. The program needs to be refocused back to its mission of resolving conflicts in the Delta.

2. CBDA staff should have a clear mandate to facilitate coordination among state and federal agencies, not to direct the activities of implementing agencies.

3. Participating state and federal agencies should develop crosscut budgets so that the annual budgets of the participating federal agencies compliment each other and avoid duplication.

4. There should be a lead individual from both the state and federal administrations of sufficient stature to make decisions and speak for their respective administrations. These two leads should act as counterparts and should be held accountable for effectively coordinating the implementing agencies.

5. Oversight of the existing CALFED Program should include representatives of the implementing agencies, and also include public members to provide an independent voice.

6. A lead scientist should be retained at the earliest possible date and should be given a clear mandate to work with the Bay-Delta Authority Director and the implementing agencies to develop a science program designed to answer specific high priority questions that will be used by policymakers.

7. There must be a tracking system established that tracks public investments from local, state and federal sources and which establishes measurements of progress and the major program elements. It must be based on outcomes, not just dollars spent.

8. Where appropriate, CALFED meetings should be noticed and open to the public. Stakeholder input should be considered and where decisions are made that are contrary to significant stakeholder groups, the reasons for departure should be cited and supported by the record.

9. The co-chairs of the CBDA board should be high-ranking officials in the state and federal administrations. For the state it should be the Secretary of Resources or the Director of Water Resources. The Governor should specifically appoint the individual. The federal co-chair should be a high-ranking official in the Department of Interior, named by the Secretary. These individuals must clearly be understood to speak for their administrations and should be held accountable for the success of the program.

10. Final policy decisions must rest with the state and federal administrations and must be joint decisions.

11. The CBDA board should be given a prominent advisory role in the decision-making process but should not be given policymaking authority.

In addition to these recommendations, Hall also highlighted several provisions found in ACWA's recently released policy document, "No Time to Waste: A Blueprint for California Water." In that report are two recommendations dealing with the Delta, the second of which addresses the long-term sustainability of the Delta. The overwhelming evidence that the Delta is in crisis make it clear that a high level, comprehensive look at the Delta is warranted.

"While CALFED has been able to assemble a number of the facts regarding the Delta, it is highly questionable that the current CALFED structure can bring together the technical expertise and political will necessary to implement a comprehensive, sustainable future for the Delta," said Hall. "That is why my organization has called upon the Governor to appoint a very high-level commission whose job it would be to assemble the right experts and over a reasonable period of time develop a set of recommendations that, if implemented, would secure the future of the Delta as a resource for the environment and for the economy."

Hall also provided the Little Hoover Commission with a set of policy principles developed by ACWA regarding the financing of water infrastructure in California.

ACWA is a statewide association whose 440 public agency members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California. For more information about "No Time to Waste: A Blueprint for California Water," or to read Steve Hall's testimony, visit www.acwa.com.