Office of the Secretary                  
For immediate release                  
January 14, 2004

                  Secretary Norton Appoints Jason Peltier
             Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science

Washington - Interior Secretary Gale Norton has appointed Jason Peltier of
California as deputy assistant secretary for Water and Science.  Peltier
will assist Assistant Secretary Bennett Raley and Principal Deputy
Assistant Tom Weimer in management oversight and policy direction for the
Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Jason Pettier has distinguished himself for the last two years as a key
advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science,” Norton said,
“where he has engaged in the development and implementation of policies
that affected the 31 million urban customers and farmers on the 10 million
acres of farmland served by the Bureau of Reclamation.  His long experience
in working on water and resource issues, both inside and out of government,
is of great value to the department.”

Peltier has recently worked with the California Bay Delta Authority and
served in a federal leadership role in coordinating and managing the
participation of the ten federal agencies engaged with the CALFED process.
In addition he fills a lead role for the Assistant Secretary in managing
the work to complete construction of the Central Utah Project.

As manager of the California’s Central Valley Project Water Association
from 1998 through 2001, he directed the education and advocacy efforts of
this not-for-profit membership organization. His efforts resulted in
programs and strategies that strove for the sensible use of water for the
agricultural and urban uses of Central Valley Project water.  In addition,
he served in a leadership role among the agricultural, urban and
environmental communities in assuring that monies for environmental
improvement projects were sensibly invested.

Peltier is a fourth generation Californian where he graduated from Chico
State University with a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture. He currently
resides in Great Falls, VA., with his wife, Jean-Mari, and their two
children.
                                   -DOI-