Nomination Signals Water Policy Shift : Government: President taps a critic of past practices for top post at the Bureau of Reclamation. The agency was previously run by champions of dams and similar projects.

In a move that reflects a significant philosophical shift in water policy in the West, President Bill Clinton on Wednesday nominated a top deputy to Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez) as commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the largest supplier of water to 17 states.

The nomination of Daniel P. Beard places a critic of traditional reclamation practices at the helm of the 91-year-old agency, breaking a longtime hold on the post by strong champions of new dams and other water projects that have shaped the development of the arid West.

Beard, whose appointment must be confirmed by the Senate, has worked since 1985 for Miller, a leading opponent in Congress of the dam projects that provide subsidized water to farms in California and other states.

“He is the first commissioner truly in touch with the future of water in the West,” said Guy Martin, a Washington attorney who represents an association of Western urban water agencies. “The future rests not on new construction (of water projects) but the sensible reallocation of existing water to meet the needs of 2000 not 1940.”

As staff director for the House Committee on Natural Resources, Beard was one of the chief architects of landmark water reform legislation passed by Congress last year. In California, the legislation ended the bureau’s policy of channeling 90% of water from the federally run Central Valley Project to agricultural irrigation districts.

Among other things, the legislation set aside a guaranteed amount of federal water in California for fish and wildlife.

As bureau commissioner, Beard would oversee implementation of the legislation, making it much harder for farmers and other opponents to derail provisions that guarantee water for the environment and allow the transfer of water from farms to cities.

“He is as well-versed as anyone in the nation on the bureau’s programs and the issues the bureau confronts,” said Tom Graff, senior attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund in Oakland. “It is an appointment of someone with real in-depth knowledge.”

Representatives of traditional water interests took a wait-and-see approach to the nomination, saying they were hopeful that past differences with Beard would not color their future relationship. Beard made enemies as deputy secretary in the Department of the Interior during the Carter Administration when he defended a White House “hit list” that sought to scale back plans for new water projects in the West.

“There are some in the most conservative elements of the traditional water community that will never forgive anyone associated with that,” said Martin, who served as Beard’s boss at that time. “But clearly he was not responsible for that. He simply worked in an administration that made that policy choice.”

His past adversaries declined to publicly criticize Beard on Wednesday, and some said they thought he would be easy to work with. Many said they were not surprised by the appointment.

“He has a different view of what reclamation should be doing than perhaps I do or my clients, but the bottom line is that view is in line with (Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt),” said Stuart Somach, a Sacramento water attorney who represents agricultural clients. “I believe him to be a person you can have a fair and reasonable discussion with.”

Jason Peltier, manager of the Central Valley Project Water Assn., said that despite the many differences between Beard and irrigation districts that contract for federal water, his appointment may actually help their cause.

“He has been one of the main people throwing spears at the reclamation programs, and now he is going to have to catch them,” Peltier said. “President Clinton has made it very clear he is not going to be a one-side eco-freak about things. His agenda appears to be one of forcing discussions of balance and examining issues.”

As commissioner, Beard would also have a major say in a proposal by Gov. Pete Wilson to transfer the massive Central Valley Project from the federal government to the state. Wilson last year made the proposal a key component of his statewide water policy, but it has been put on hold by the Clinton Administration for further study.

“We will be anxious to see how this appointment works out,” said Michael Mantell, Wilson’s undersecretary for the Department of Resources. “We are hopeful that he . . . will be supportive of the CVP transfer. At this point, it is unclear where Dan Beard stands.”

In addition to Beard, the White House announced appointments of two Californians, Joe Shuldiner from Los Angeles as assistant secretary for public housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Kevin Sweeney as director of communications at the Department of Interior.

Times staff writer Glenn F. Bunting in Washington contributed to this story.