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Cal-FED’s water plan can continue, says Supreme Court, but wording may help losing side defeat canal

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 6, 2008 at 7:47 am

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

The state and federal governments can form a long-range plan for managing water shipments through the bay and delta region without examining the option of reducing exports to Central and Southern California, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Environmentalists had argued that the plan favored dams over conservation, and farmers said they feared they might be bypassed in favor of city dwellers. But the court ruled unanimously that CalFed, the state-federal consortium drawing up the long-range plan, had balanced water supply needs against ecological and other concerns.

The decision upheld an environmental review of the plan, which the agency developed between 1995 and 2000 to try to address urban and agricultural water needs while protecting the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, where river diversions, development and pollution have damaged water quality and wildlife habitat.

The CalFed proposal includes increased shipments through the delta, with the goal of assuring reliable supplies for water users to the south. A state appeals court ruled in 2005 that the environmental review was inadequate because it failed to include the option of reduced water shipments, which would avoid the need for additional dams, and did not identify where the extra water to be shipped south would come from.

Although the justices cleared the way for a planning process for dams, reservoirs and other projects contemplated in the 30-year program, the ruling may not have much impact. CalFed, a group of 18 federal and state agencies formed in 1994 to work on long-term solutions to delta water problems, has made little headway and is being bypassed by combatants in the water wars.

But Stockton Record’s article says even though Cal-FED is dying a slow death, the ruling is still important:

But the court’s decision Thursday is not moot. CALFED’s plan is still the foundation for many studies that are under way in the Delta, said CALFED spokesman Keith Coolidge. And the ruling will be looked to by those who are crafting new strategies.

That’s why Stockton attorney Dante Nomellini, although on the losing end, was encouraged. The court acknowledged that federal and state law means water exports must be “subordinated” to environmental needs, he said.

CALFED was based on the theory that it’s possible to restore the Delta’s ecology while maintaining or even increasing water exports. “If practical experience demonstrates that the theory is unsound, Bay-Delta water exports may need to be capped or reduced,” the ruling says.

Good news, said Nomellini, who represents Delta farmers. “I think it’s a very important statement that will have an impact” on current Delta planning, he said.

Read the full text of the story from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here. Read the full text of the article from Stockton’s Record by clicking here.

June 6, 2008 · Filed Under Bay Delta Conservation Plan, Other Delta Issues

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