Government
Jun. 4, 2004
Foes Unite for Public Land Project
SAN FRANCISCO - A scene remarkable for its comity, given its participants and its subject matter, was played out late last month in the chambers of the Public Utilities Commission.
More than a dozen people representing virtually every warring faction defining California's water and natural resources conflicts for the past century met to formulate plans to preserve a vast swath of territory from Redding to Bakersfield.
"It's really great to be here today, in this room, for this purpose," said Steve Wald, director of the California Hydropower Reform Coalition, which has been fighting for years to protect the lands, all of which are owned by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. "I think we have a lot of cause to be optimistic."
The numbers alone testify to the complexity of the task facing the inelegantly named Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council - 141,727 acres covering 221 square miles, divided into nearly 1,000 parcels in 21 counties. Also involved are 99 reservoirs controlling nearly 2.3 million acre-feet of precious water, enough to supply more than 10 million people a year.
Reservation of the company's watershed for permanent public benefit is widely considered one of the best results of the utility's acrimonious three-year bankruptcy. The properties include some of the finest fishing, camping and hiking venues in the state.
PG&E at one point had hoped to sell its hydroelectric infrastructure, which includes the land. During its bankruptcy, the company also proposed spinning off the hydro assets into a new company outside the PUC's purview.
That idea alarmed environmentalists as well as government regulators and became a significant issue in the bankruptcy.
Ultimately, the framework for the current approach was established as a major feature of the compromise between the utility and the PUC that helped usher PG&E out of bankruptcy last month.
"Long after today's events are forgotten, the people of California will have a priceless asset - 140,000 acres of Sierra lands in perpetuity, for their use," PUC President Michael Peevey said late last year, after the body approved the deal. "That may be the legacy of this whole episode."
The agreement calls for the land either to be covered by conservation easements or transferred to public or nonprofit entities.
It also created a 17-member stewardship council governing board (including one nonvoting federal representative) to recommend the precise disposition of the land. Ultimate authority rests with the PUC. The panel held its second meeting last week.
Over three years the stewardship board will develop a plan that conserves the land for "the protection of the natural habitat of fish, wildlife and plants, the preservation of open space, outdoor recreation by the general public, sustainable forestry, agriculture uses and historic values."
PG&E has pledged $70 million toward the planning effort and improvements to the properties, plus an additional $30 million for a program to benefit urban youth.
The board, composed of representatives of state government, environmental groups, water users and the timber and agriculture industries, is supposed to make its decisions by "consensus."
Simple.
The urban-rural, recreation-industry pressures reflected in the board's membership are "a microcosm of the major issues" facing the state, said Mark Rentz, a member of the new board and general counsel of the California Forestry Association.
"I'm entering into it with a very open mind," Rentz said.
He said the interests of his members, who are some of the largest private timberland owners in the state, include the "management techniques" that are applied to the PG&E land "and what are the implications for our lands."
Added Rentz: "It's open for a broad range of discussions, a broad range of opportunities."
If that sounds a little vague, perhaps that's not surprising at this stage, with three years of tough and possibly controversial decisions ahead.
Wald said his optimism stems in part from his coalition's recent participation in a settlement governing a new federal license for a major segment of the utility's hydro operations on the Feather River. He said it was the sixth such compromise his coalition negotiated so far.
But the fact that the new process provides a forum for people such as Rentz and Wald - who represent interests often drastically at odds with each other - to communicate is noteworthy. That it was accomplished as a result of the intensely fought PG&E bankruptcy (which is still subject to litigation) is also remarkable.
"We've got a very complex planning process ahead of us," Wald said. But "it can't be nearly as hard as what we've gone through."
Dennis Pfaff
For reprint rights or to order a copy of your photo:
Email
Jeremy_Ellis@dailyjournal.com
for prices.
Direct dial: 213-229-5424
Send a letter to the editor:
Email: letters@dailyjournal.com