Should they drain Hetch Hetchy?

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From San Jose Mercury News

Proposal to drain Hetch Hetchy falls flat with politicians
By Paul Rogers
Mercury News

Mention the environment, and many California politicians can't keep from gushing.

But among the state's top elected officials, the idea of draining the reservoir in Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley and tearing down its dam isn't exactly finding a flood of support.

In the two weeks since the Schwarzenegger administration released a report saying that restoring Hetch Hetchy is feasible but would cost $3 billion to $10 billion, not a single major California political leader has endorsed the idea.

Even the greenest politicians -- Bay Area Democrats who regularly win the endorsement of the Sierra Club and receive perfect ratings from the League of Conservation Voters -- remain non-committal at best.

None, from Democratic governor hopeful Phil Angelides to House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, say they support spending public money to fund more detailed engineering studies that would keep the idea moving forward. Some top Democrats, like Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., say they are too busy even to give interviews on the topic.

Why?

Some experts say it's because the plan would cost too much -- politically as much as financially. Backing the proposal would roil an influential area, San Francisco, by threatening to alter its pristine water supply, and already has business groups across the Bay Area up in arms.

Politicians, however, are loath to go public with that argument. Many work closely with environmentalists and would prefer to see the issue go away rather than differ with key allies.

Angering constituents

``They obviously are doing a cost-benefit analysis for themselves,'' said Sheldon Kamieniecki, dean of social sciences at the University of California-Santa Cruz. ``They are thinking, `I could go with the environmental groups, but if I do that it could invariably lead to constituency animosity.' ''

Kamieniecki, a longtime political scientist, said the issue is a rare instance akin to when Michigan Democrats oppose raising gas mileage standards over concerns it might hurt auto workers, even though environmental groups who endorse them have made the issue a top goal.

``It's great to have the Sierra Club's support, but you cannot replace that with votes,'' Kamieniecki said. ``It's also about risk-taking. Apparently in this case they don't want to take that risk.''

One Democratic congressional staff member familiar with the issue said it is awkward.

``Nobody in the Bay Area wants to take on an environmental group,'' the staff member said, asking to remain anonymous because of the controversial nature of the issue. ``They can leverage a lot of people, even though they might not cost you the election.''

In 1913 Congress gave in to requests from San Francisco leaders to construct O'Shaughnessy Dam in Hetch Hetchy Valley. And the valley, a scenic area 15 miles north of Yosemite Valley, was submerged in 1924.

Today, the water -- a snowmelt so pure it doesn't have to be filtered -- flows 160 miles to the Bay Area. It provides drinking water to 2.4 million from San Francisco to Santa Clara.

Environmentalists have opposed a dam at Hetch Hetchy for decades. Two years ago, new momentum gathered when the group Environmental Defense and the University of California-Davis released studies showing a removal project was feasible, and if Hetch Hetchy were drained, its water could be stored in new or enlarged reservoirs elsewhere. Gov. Schwarzenegger asked the state Department of Water Resources to evaluate them but has not taken a position, saying the next step is up to the federal government.

Backed by Garamendi

Among statewide officials, only Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has come out in favor of draining Hetch Hetchy. He did that a year ago.

Among Democrats who could affect the outcome, Angelides has gone the furthest. He told the Mercury News this week that he wants to learn more about how the water and power would be replaced.

``John Muir said it well when he described Hetch Hetchy as one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples,'' Angelides said, paraphrasing the Sierra Club founder, ``but there are still many questions that need to be answered.''

Angelides said he wasn't ready to say whether he supports spending the $65 million that the state Department of Water Resources said is needed for complete engineering and legal studies.

Instead, he said, he wants to watch hearings that Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Vacaville, plans to hold in late August or September.

Others, like Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., flatly say no way.

Need for consensus

Similarly, Boxer, who declined interview requests over four days, believes there should be no action unless all parties agree, her staff said. That's a near impossibility. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which runs the reservoir, is adamant that draining Hetch Hetchy would be a mistake, as are most leading Bay Area business groups.

``If there is no consensus, then a federally funded study should not be done,'' said Boxer spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz.

Pelosi is more succinct.

``She can't imagine them tearing it down, and particularly at such a high cost,'' said Brendan Dailey, a Pelosi spokesman. ``We don't support funding new studies.''

Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, called the idea ``a practical impossibility'' because of the cost. And Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, isn't rushing behind the idea either.

``He would like to see more information but hasn't come out favoring a costly study,'' said Lynne Weil, a Lantos spokeswoman.

Environmentalists say they are not discouraged, and that they expect it to take years to build momentum. Some backers, including Wolk, say restoring Hetch Hetchy has a better chance of happening if it were part of a huge compromise between conservatives and liberals to expand California's water supply by building new reservoirs to hold more water than would be lost.

``It is surprising to me that people are so afraid of doing studies,'' said Tom Graff, California director for Environmental Defense, in Oakland. ``It seems they are worried about what might turn up.''

Contact Paul Rogers at progers@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5045.