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Saturday’s top of the scroll: Judge relaxes Delta salmon rules

Posted by: Maven on February 6, 2010 at 8:21 am

From the Contra Costa Times:

“In a win for central and Southern California farmers and cities, a federal judge on Friday suspended salmon protection rules just weeks after they began affecting water deliveries. The decision, which angered salmon fishermen, means that for at least the next two weeks water agencies serving mostly the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California can run Delta pumps to take full advantage of flows from recent storms without regard to restrictions meant to protect salmon, steelhead and other fish.

“I thought we were on the path to getting those fish back,” said San Francisco fisher Larry Collins, who like other salmon fishers has not been able to fish for two years. “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger suspended a portion of the permit that limits how hard Delta pumps can run, saying federal water managers did not sufficiently analyze the impact of the new rules.

“The principle the court applied is very clear,” said Dan Nelson, executive director of the San Luis & Delta Mendota Water Authority, which represents San Joaquin Valley farmers. “The judge found that the federal agencies should have considered alternatives that would still adequately protect the fish while causing less harm to people.” … “

Read more from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.

From the Stockton Record:

” … Despite a series of wet storms since mid-January, the state and federal governments have been unable to pump as much as they normally could. That’s because of new rules to protect endangered salmon and steelhead, rules which have brought national attention to the San Joaquin Valley.

District Court Judge Oliver Wanger’s order says that since the storms began, perhaps 190,000 acre-feet of water have drained to the ocean instead of being diverted from the state pumps near Tracy to cities as far south as San Diego. One acre-foot is enough to serve an average family for one year.

Federal pumps that irrigate farmland in the south San Joaquin Valley also have been crimped.

The Westlands Water District sought the restraining order. Until January, cuts in water deliveries to Westlands have been largely because of drought, not protections for Delta fish. Nevertheless, Wanger said any water that is not pumped south “will continue to … exacerbate the currently catastrophic situation” faced by farms and cities. … “

Read more from the Record by clicking here.

From ABC News:

” … Environmentalists warned that would heighten the risk that fish were ground up in the pumps. “We’re very concerned that this may be the last nail in the coffin of these species that are on the brink of extinction already,” said Erin Tobin, an attorney with Earthjustice.

The pumping restrictions are part of a plan by federal biologists to safeguard endangered salmon as they spawn in the state’s rivers and swim through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to reach the Pacific Ocean.

Environmentalists and fishermen sued to get those protections in place, arguing that the collapse of one of the West Coast’s biggest wild salmon runs two years ago foretold the extinction of related species. … “

Read more from ABC News by clicking here.

From the Los Angeles Times:

” … [Judge Wanger's] decision sent mixed signals about the ultimate outcome of the case. He found that plaintiffs “have not yet established a likelihood of success” on their claims against the Endangered Species Act.

Instead, Wanger ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation had not performed the necessary analysis of the pumping permit and its restrictions under another federal law, the National Environmental Policy Act.

“This is not a decision on the soundness of the [permit], the analysis included in it or the actions required by it,” said Chris Yates, a NOAA Fisheries Service assistant regional administrator. “We continue to stand by those conclusions very strongly.” … “

Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

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February 6, 2010 · Filed Under Wildlife & Endangered Species

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