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BREAKING NEWS: Wanger rules again, this time for the salmon; could ultimtely mean less water for Southern California

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 16, 2008 at 4:44 pm

From the Sacramento Bee:

A federal judge in Fresno ruled Wednesday that a 2004 permit to operate state and federal water projects in California violated the Endangered Species Act, potentially jeopardizing the survival of Central Valley steelhead and two species of salmon.

The decision by Judge Oliver Wanger will require the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the National Marine Fisheries Service to prepare a new permit to operate the water systems. That new permit is already being drafted and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. But Wanger may impose interim regulations to protect the fish until then, which could further reduce water supplies in California.

Wanger is the judge who in December ordered new protections for threatened Delta smelt, which are predicted to reduce water deliveries this year by 30 percent to some 25 million Californians.

Mike Sherwood, an attorney for Oakland-based Earthjustice who handled the case on behalf of 10 environmental groups, said the ruling shows that California has been operating its water systems at full throttle for too long, and its native fish species have paid the price.

From the Fresno Bee:

A 151-page decision issued by U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger found that a key opinion — known as a “biological opinion” — covering winter-run Chinook salmon, spring-run Chinook salmon and the Central Valley steelhead violated the federal Endangered Species Act and must be rewritten.

The practical effects of the decision are unknown until further hearings are held before Wanger. Those hearings — the first of which is scheduled for April 23 — will address what to do now that Wanger has found the law was violated.

But, as with the tiny delta smelt, the result will likely be further cuts in water deliveries for both the state and federal water projects. Such cuts would be felt all across the state, from urban users in both the Bay Area and Southern California to west-side agricultural interests that depend on water pumped through massive delta pumps for irrigation.

Read the full text of the article from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here. Read the full text of the article from the Fresno Bee by clicking here. Brief coverage from the San Jose Mercury News can be found by clicking here.

From Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org:

Recreational fishing, commercial fishing and conservation groups and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe celebrated the ruling as a victory for the millions of Californians who depend on the delta for drinking water, fishing jobs and agriculture. The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is the largest and most significant estuary on the West Coast - and increased state and federal exports to subsidized agribusiness and southern California in recent years are a key factor in the collapse of Sacramento River salmon.

In his opinion Judge Oliver W. Wanger relied on the National Marine Fisheries Services’ (NMFS) own finding that diverting water from the bay-delta was killing huge numbers of salmon. He said, “This morbid projection is inconsistent, if not irreconcilable” with the agency’s opinion that the project operations did not jeopardize the survival of the fish. He also faulted the agency for failing to analyze the effects of global warming on the fish, calling that failure “arbitrary and capricious.”

“How extirpation of approaching one-third of the species affected by Project operations does not constitute jeopardy is not explained,” said Wanger. “NMFS’s no jeopardy conclusion for the Project operations’ effects on the spring-run Chinook is expressly contradicted by underlying data and opinions of the BiOp.”

Comprehensive coverage from Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org by clicking here; article includes the press release from Earth Justice and key quotes from the court decision.

In response to the ruling, DWR issued this response:

The Department of Water Resources today released this statement by Director Lester A. Snow in response to federal Judge Oliver Wanger’s decision on salmon.

“Although we don’t yet know the full effects that today’s decision by Judge Wanger may have on the state’s water deliveries, it is further evidence that the Delta is teetering on the brink of collapse. Governor Schwarzenegger has outlined a comprehensive plan for Delta sustainability to protect the fragile environment and ensure reliable water supplies for 25 million Californians. The clock is ticking and we must move forward on a Delta solution.”

A remedy hearing on the matter is set for April 25 in Fresno.