The State - News from Jan. 3, 1985

The state Water Resources Control Board turned down a request from the federal Bureau of Reclamation for postponement of a hearing scheduled for Tuesday on proposed cleanup of Kesterson Wildlife Refuge. Water Resources Control Board spokesman Evan Nossoff said that a new state law requires that toxic waste dumps be lined or abandoned and that this law applies to Kesterson because of drainage of agricultural waste water from the San Joaquin Valley. The bureau wanted the hearing postponed, saying it had not had time to prepare a proper presentation of its position. Scientists blame the wast water at Kesterson for widespread deaths and deformities among birds that nest there.