Agreement Near on Bill to Cut Mono Diversions

The authors of legislation designed to reduce water diversion from Mono Lake announced Thursday that they are close to reaching an agreement with state officials, which is expected to pave the way for Gov. George Deukmejian to sign the measure.

A key element in the agreement, however, sliced $15 million from a fund that could be used by the city of Los Angeles to find alternative water sources to replace Mono Basin water.

Assemblyman Phillip Isenberg (D-Sacramento) told the Senate Appropriations Committee that he expects negotiations with officials of the state Department of Water Resources to lead to changes in the legislation that will remove the Deukmejian Administration’s opposition to it.

“This is an enormously significant sign, I think,” Isenberg said. “Everybody’s talking about the same things, which is terrific.”

As it now stands, a bill by Assemblyman William P. Baker (R-Danville) establishes financing for $390.8 million in water projects, including $60 million for the creation of an environmental water fund. Isenberg’s bill requires the city of Los Angeles, the Water Resources Department and the Mono Lake Committee, an environmental group, to agree to a plan for protecting the lake’s ecosystem.

Both the city, which diverts water from streams that flow into the lake, and environmentalists acknowledge that any agreement would have to include requirements that Los Angeles reduce its diversions. Once that is done, Isenberg’s bill provides that the city can receive financial grants from the environmental water fund.

The two bills won unanimous approval of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday after the water fund was reduced from $75 million to $60 million. Isenberg told the committee that state administrators wanted the environmental water fund reductions so that more money can be devoted to restoring the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta levees.

Isenberg assured committee members that the measures would not be brought to the Senate floor until an accord had been reached with the Deukmejian Administration. Both bills have already passed the Assembly.