Senators Boxer, Feinstein Call for Fresno County Disaster

California Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein are joining Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in calling on the Obama administration to issue a federal disaster declaration for Fresno County.

In a letter to the president, the senators said the county has been hit hard by water shortages from a lack of rainfall and the need to protect endangered species. A disaster declaration would help the region obtain emergency unemployment and other benefits.

The aid would not include what farmers seek most: an easing of the enforcement of environmental regulations that has severely curtailed the amount of water pumped into surface water delivery systems from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.