Backstage maneuvering continues over federal drought bill

WASHINGTON — On Nov. 20, while the Capitol Hill spotlight was pointed elsewhere, three Northern California congressmen paid a quiet call on the state’s junior Democratic senator, Barbara Boxer.

They wanted to talk water.

For upward of 40 minutes, in a room near the Senate floor, Bay Area Democratic Reps. Mike Thompson, George Miller and Jared Huffman sounded an alarm about water legislation coming quickly down the pipe.

The private meeting preceded, but did not instigate, the unexpected end to the water bill negotiations, led by California’s Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Republicans in the House of Representatives. It took place even as House Republican staffers believed they were within days of finishing legislation addressing California’s drought.

Now, with Feinstein’s surprise decision Thursday afternoon to call a halt and restart talks in January with a more open process, officials and advocates must assess what went wrong, what went right and what comes next.

“I deeply believe the people want both parties to work together, and that is the only way we will be able to enact water legislation,” Feinstein said. “It’s my hope that groups critical of this effort will strive to be productive rather than destructive.”

A California water bill could take many forms.

A version passed by the House in February would authorize new water-storage projects on the Upper San Joaquin River and elsewhere, limit certain environmental protections for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and remove wild-and-scenic protections from a half mile of the Merced River in order to potentially expand McClure Reservoir, among other provisions.

A Senate version passed in May was far smaller in scope.

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