NOTICE POSTPONING PUBLIC HEARING BAY-DELTA WATER RIGHTS HEARING Regarding Consideration of

(1) Alternatives to Implement Water Quality Objectivesfor the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary,

(2) a Petition to Change Points of Diversion of theCentral Valley Project and the State Water Projectin the Southern Delta, and

(3) a Petition to Change Places of Uses and Purposes of Use of theCentral Valley ProjectPreviously Scheduled to Commence on March 9, 1998

THIS IS NOTICE THAT the above hearing has been rescheduled and will commence at a later date. The purpose of this change is to allow some of the parties additional time to negotiate agreements on the responsibilities of various water right holders to help meet the flow-dependent objectives ¹ in the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary, adopted on May 22, 1995 (1995 Bay-Delta Plan). A number of parties have requested postponement of the hearing, the due date for filing exhibits, and/or the deadline for filing comments on the two draft Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) related to this hearing. Several parties also have asked the SWRCB to receive evidence on specific hearing topics in phases.

The hearing dates and the dates for submittal of exhibits have been rescheduled. Except for these dates, the notice dated December 2, 1997, remains unchanged. The SWRCB will provide a further notice including the new dates and any other changes in the hearing process or scope after the workshop discussed below.

Before the hearing commences, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) will convene a workshop to review the negotiated agreements. The parties who negotiated the agreements will be asked to provide copies of their agreements to all the participants and to describe the agreements to the SWRCB and the other parties attending the workshop. The workshop is scheduled to start April 21, 1998. The SWRCB also will hear comments from the parties at the workshop regarding the organization of the water right proceedings. After the workshop, the SWRCB will set the schedule for the hearing and will decide on the organization of the proceedings. The SWRCB will take into consideration the extent of consensus on the negotiated agreements when it decides on the organization of the proceedings.

As set forth in a separate letter, the due date has been changed for providing comments on the two draft EIRs related to this hearing. These EIRs are for (1) the implementation of the 1995 Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan and the petition of the Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for a joint point of diversion in the southern Delta, and (2) the petition of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for a consolidated place of use for certain Central Valley Project water right permits. The new due date for comments on the draft EIRs is April 1, 1998. A copy of either draft EIR can be obtained from Ms. Renee Frazier at (916) 657-1361. A copy of the volume containing the appendices for the first draft EIR will not be provided unless specifically requested.

Details concerning the location and organization of the workshop will be forwarded separately. Questions concerning this notice may be directed to Victoria A. Whitney, Chief, Bay-Delta Unit, at (916) 653-2516 (FAX (916) 657-1485), or to Barbara J. Leidigh, Senior Staff Counsel, at (916) 657-2102.

/s/

Maureen Marché

Administrative Assistant to the Board

Footnote 1:   Flow-dependent objectives are defined to include all objectives that could be met by the flow of water or by changes in the operations of facilities, notwithstanding that such objectives also could be met entirely or partially through other means, such as management measures and waste discharge requirements.