for Congress and states to say maybe there are areas of coastal land where we simply shouldn't build.

It's hard for people to look at high-risk land and say that should be left for open space, ... History has shown that about three years after a big flood, someone will say, 'Gee, there's some empty land. We ought to develop it.'

If the refuge is approved and land is placed in the refuge, then the reservoir cannot be built unless Congress passes a bill removing the land from the refuge system. This is because the state or local agencies involved can't condemn federal land. Once before, a Texas congressman (Ralph Hall) tried to remove a refuge from the refuge system so that a reservoir could be built on the site, and he met with widespread opposition, both in Texas and around the country. But it would be possible.

Many local officials seize land illegally and convert it into commercial real estate developments. It is good that the congress is looking at bolstering farmers' land rights. But legislators will face many obstacles as many local officials may not comply.

It's important to farmers because we will be looking at what can be done to have that balance between land-use regulations and making it so farmers can continue to thrive in San Diego County. The resulting plan could be one of the best things to come in 2006.

There's no room on the agenda, there's no room in Congress and there's no room politically.