Passage by the House Thursday of a California water bill is boosting prospects that Congress may soon finally approve an extra $922 million to complete the Central Utah Project.
The House passed a bill reforming how the Central Valley Project in California will distribute water and costs among agriculture, businesses and cities there.Years of fighting over California water reform has stalled consideration of an omnibus water projects bill, which includes non-controversial authorization to complete many Western water projects including the CUP.
Members of Utah's congressional delegation said the vote Thursday clears the last obstacle for the House and Senate to finally convene a conference on the omnibus water bill.
All is not clear sailing ahead, though, because as Rep. Wayne Owens, D-Utah, said, negotiations among factions in California "are still continuing."
The CUP began bumping into its debt limit this year, and the Bush administration refused to request about $16 million in year-to-year funding.
So the local agency that oversees the CUP, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, decided to pay that $16 million in local funds this year, gambling that Congress will approve completion of the project.