Long-Stalled Drought Relief Bill Approved : Legislation: Congressional plan would ease curbs on use of federal water and facilities for purposes other than irrigation.

The House unanimously approved an “emergency” California drought relief bill on Wednesday--nearly one year after it was approved the first time--and immediately forwarded the long-awaited legislation to President Bush for his expected signature.

The bill would furnish communities in Southern California with a new weapon in the ongoing struggle to transfer and store new sources of water during drought years.

“Despite the rains that have inundated portions of California over the past week, this legislation is more urgent than ever,” said Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez), chairman of the House Interior Committee. “Even if we have a normal rain year, which is extremely unlikely, the collective impact of five years of drought will leave much of the economy and the ecology of California in shambles in 1992.”

The most recent alarm in the state’s continuing drought was sounded last week when the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced that water deliveries for agriculture, municipal and environmental uses will face more severe cutbacks this year.

“This needed legislation has been a long time coming,” said Department of Interior spokesman Steve Goldstein, adding that the Bush Administration supports the bill. “Californians should see the benefit of this relatively soon through an increased water supply.”

The drought package authorizes a total of $90 million to subsidize water reforms and an additional $12 million to construct water temperature control facilities at Shasta Dam to protect the salmon fishery.

The bill relaxes an 80-year-old ban that prohibits the diverting of water from federal facilities intended primarily for irrigation. It would allow the federal government to participate in water banks or serve as a broker by buying and selling water from willing participants.

As an example, the federal government could transfer water from farmers in the Central Valley Project to Southern California municipal users, said Frank Dimick, a spokesman for the Bureau of Reclamation.

Two California communities that stand to benefit immediately are Santa Barbara and Contra Costa County. Santa Barbara would be able to store water in Lake Cachuma, a federal reservoir, and Contra Costa County could begin receiving water directly from the state water bank through the federally owned Contra Costa Canal.

It took the House minutes on Wednesday to approve by voice vote Senate amendments to the bill, which is called the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act. Immediately afterward, fingers pointed in all directions on Capitol Hill in an attempt to lay blame for the long delay.

Miller noted that the House originally approved the bill on March 21 of last year. “Regrettably, the Senate took more than eight months to pass a compromise version . . . and did not send the bill back to the House until after this chamber had adjourned” in late November.

A spokesman for Sen. John Seymour (R-California) called Miller’s statement “incorrect,” claiming that the Senate received the bill in mid-April, approved it in late October and sent the measure to the House before the Thanksgiving recess.

In November, Miller tried to attach to the measure controversial legislation to stop the Interior Department from automatically renewing 40-year water service contracts for agricultural users of the massive Central Valley Project. After suffering a narrow defeat, Miller backed down and revived the drought bill.

But Miller sounded a strong warning on Wednesday that his efforts to alter the way the Bureau of Reclamation does business will be addressed by Congress soon.