Wilson, Lujan Agree on Transfer of Federal Water Project to State
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SACRAMENTO — Gov. Pete Wilson and Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan Jr. formally agreed to a plan to transfer of the Central Valley Project water delivery system from federal to state control.
The governor said the two signed a non-binding memorandum of agreement--approved in principle earlier--that “sets the stage for allowing (California) to resolve the challenges we face in meeting our demands for water for ourselves.”
Wilson said that assuming Congress and the Clinton Administration agree, the federal project could be transferred to California control in three years. He said the new Administration should “seize on the opportunity that this agreement represents.”
The Central Valley Project operates a network of canals, channels and reservoirs that moves about 7 million acre-feet of water a year in California, mostly to agricultural customers.
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