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Wanger rules Red Bluff diversion dam gates to remain closed – for now

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 28, 2008 at 7:36 am

From the Fresno Bee:

A federal judge on Friday rejected an emergency request by environmentalists to immediately open the gates of a key dam on the Sacramento River, a move they said was needed to allow endangered Chinook salmon to reach their spawning grounds.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger sent a wave of relief through nervous Sacramento Valley farmers and growers who depend on water diverted at the dam to feed their crops. “We dodged a bullet,” said Jeff Sutton, general manager of the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority.

Wanger, however, also said he was leaning toward ordering the gates of the Red Bluff Diversion Dam to open Sept. 2, about two weeks earlier than normal. He said he wants to hear more testimony on that matter and didn’t issue any final ruling.

Though peak time for irrigating is July and August, if September is a hot month, opening the gates two weeks early could have an adverse effect on the same growers who feared the gates would be ordered open now, said Ken LaGrande, the canal authority’s chairman.

But Natural Resources Defense Council attorney Kate Poole, who is participating in the hearing, said the gates remaining closed now hurt Chinook salmon heading upstream to their spawning grounds. In August and September, the gates need to be open to assist young salmon heading back downstream to the ocean. Poole has said the species are in peril and need help to survive the state’s drought conditions.

The ruling came as part of the Wanger court proceedings regarding the effect of water diversions on the Chinook salmon. Read more on this story from the Fresno Bee by clicking here. (Note: you may need to scroll down to read the story.)

June 28, 2008 · Filed Under Judge Wanger salmon ruling, Salmon

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