This story is taken from Environment at sacbee.com.

By Matt Weiser -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, May 16, 2006

The American River Authority voted Monday to begin investigating what its duties would be as a local sponsor of the controversial Auburn dam project.

That stops short of actually undertaking such a sponsorship, which could require $1 billion or more in matching funds for a dam. But the authority left little doubt about its goals.

"We need to continue to pursue looking at this local sponsorship," said Bruce Kranz, a Placer County supervisor and chairman of the authority. "In my view, it will never get cheaper to build an Auburn dam than it is today."

The vote came over objections from more than 80 Auburn dam opponents who packed the authority's meeting. They wore buttons and carried signs denouncing the project, and spoke at length about their love for the American River.

"There's no price tag you can put on this project," said Mark Root of Newcastle. "What you're seeking to destroy is priceless. It will never be recovered."

The American River Authority is a joint-powers agency whose members include Placer and El Dorado counties, their respective county water agencies, and San Joaquin County. It was formed in 1982 specifically to become the project's local sponsor, largely as a result of its members' desire to obtain American River water.

"Local sponsorship" is a legal term that means the agency would be obligated to share the costs of the project with the federal government.

But a great many questions remain. The federal government, for instance, long ago abandoned the project because of cost overruns. Several attempts to revive it in Congress have failed. Kranz has said the authority could sell bonds to finance its share, but finding buyers could be a high hurdle.

An Auburn dam with a 2.3 million acre-foot reservoir was first approved by Congress in 1965. Construction halted after a 1975 earthquake revealed a fault directly beneath the dam site.