Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez voted to support 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Act. The act includes funds for the Bureau of Reclamation for the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund and the California Bay-Delta Restoration. Investments in the water infrastructure - including pumping systems, dams, and storm drains - is $2.1 billion in the bill.
Funds for the Central Valley Project are critical to California's economy. The Central Valley of California is a major agricultural area in the nation. The Central Valley Project is operated by the US Bureau of Reclamation. The 22 reservoirs in the Project can store 11 million acre-feet of water and deliver an average of 7 million acre-feet of water in an average year. Over 3 million acres of California farmland are irrigated by the project. Nearly 2 million customers receive their daily drinking water thru the Central Valley Project.
$2.25 million is included for renewable energy sources, including solar energy. Solar energy provides over 500 megawatt of power at peak periods from the nearly 50,000 solar-panel installations throughout the state. The amount of power provided by solar power in California is equal to one major power plant.
An additional $208 million is included for power grid modernization to upgrade to "smart grids" .Smart grids can heal themselves after a disruption in the grid, more efficiently deliver power to end users, accommodate all generation and storage needs, and guard against cyber attacks.
"At the same time we are making these investments, Congress is continuing to look closely at every line of our budget to eliminate and cut programs that aren't working in order to reduce the deficit and put us on a path toward fiscal responsibility," said Rep. Sanchez.
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Posted by: CNBC | 07/20/2009 at 10:45 AM