At Last: A Solution for Mono Lake

An extraordinary coalition has gathered in support of state legislation designed to buffer Mono Lake against the sort of water diversions that have reduced the area of the unique saline lake by more than 20 square miles over the past half century. The bills sponsored by Assemblymen Phil Isenberg (D-Sacramento) and William Baker (R-Danville) deserve quick approval by the California Legislature and Gov. George Deukmejian.

The measures establish a process by which at least $75 million would be made available to the City of Los Angeles to develop alternate water supplies. This new water would take the place of much of the flow the city Department of Water and Power has been taking from Sierra-based streams that historically fed into Mono Lake, near the town of Lee Vining at the foot of the Tioga Pass Road into Yosemite National Park.

The city’s right to take the water has been successfully challenged in court by the Mono Lake Committee, the Audubon Society and other environmental groups, including a major legal victory on Tuesday. In the Audubon case, the California Supreme Court first applied the public trust doctrine to state waterway environments, proclaiming that natural uses of the water can take precedence over the water rights of diverters. About one-seventh of Los Angeles’ water supply has come from these streams.

Among those supporting the Isenberg-Baker plan in Sacramento were the Mono Lake Committee, members of the Los Angeles City Council, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Sierra Club, the Environmental Defense Fund and leaders of the legislative water committees. The legislation would establish a state environmental water fund, which gives Mono Lake its first priority for up to $75 million. Use of the money would be contingent on an agreement by the Mono Lake Committee and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power limiting the city’s diversions by a specific amount to maintain the lake at an agreed-upon level. The measures have passed the Assembly and are before the Senate’s water committee for a hearing tonight.

The water and power department has been less enthusiastic about the program since the$75 million would make up for the loss of the Mono Lake water for a relatively short time. The city claims that it will lose water and power benefits worth $1.6 billion by 2020. The water flowing downhill through the Los Angeles Aqueduct also generates electricity sold by the city department.

But now there is the prospect of federal assistance as well. Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) has written Baker to say that the federal government should help since the lake enjoys federal protection as a U.S. Forest Service national scenic area. When the state bill is approved, Wilson said, he will work with Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) on legislation providing federal assistance to the project.

The greatest threat to the state legislation now is a possible gubernatorial veto. The governor’s Finance Department has opposed the financing mechanism involved, the use of $390 million in loans owed to the state by the state Water Project contractors. But the use of such funds for the preservation of an environmental public trust would be most appropriate. With the Administration’s support, years of bitter legal dispute can be resolved in a manner in which everyone wins.