Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
April 17, 2008
1. Top Item
Study backing more water exports to
A judge says the report failed to account for effects on endangered salmon and steelhead trout. -
Judge slams
He says study fails to weigh warming's effects on salmon -
Associated Press
Federal ruling on fish protection may limit California
Water plan doesn't protect fish well,
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Study backing more water exports to
A judge says the report failed to account for effects on endangered salmon and steelhead trout.
By Eric Bailey,staff writer
U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger of
But the effect of his 151-page opinion on water exports for farms and
"This decision should prove very big for the fish," said Michael Sherwood, an attorney with Earthjustice, a nonprofit law firm representing commercial and recreational fishermen, environmental groups and the Winnemem Wintu tribe of
Wanger's ruling is the second setback in the last year for federal biologists and
The decision comes days after federal regulators canceled the 2008 salmon fishing season because of a sharp decline in the
Wanger's decision addresses an ongoing crisis for two other chinook salmon species, the winter and spring runs, and
Though the judge's decision might further curb delta exports, a more likely result is operational changes 250 miles to the north at Shasta Dam, experts on both sides said.
Cradling the state's biggest reservoir, the dam traditionally releases most of its water down the
Sherwood of Earthjustice said the ruling could mark "a turning point" in operations by the state and federal water projects, which redid the
Jeff McCracken, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates Shasta Dam as part of the federal water project, said it was too soon to decipher the decision's fallout.
"There will be no impacts until the judge tells us we have to do something differently," he said. "At this point we haven't gotten there."
Laura King Moon, assistant general manager of the nonprofit State Water Contractors, said the ruling underscored the importance of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, an effort underway in
"We can't continue to have the water system of our state remain at the mercy of every individual endangered species," she said. "We need a comprehensive plan."
Lester Snow, state Department of Water Resources chief, agreed that the ruling was "further evidence that the delta is teetering on the brink of collapse," noting that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had proposed a slate of solutions.
Among the fixes being eyed is construction of the long-debated
This spring's dry weather has already cut state water reserves. The Metropolitan Water District, the state's largest, is calling on residents to step up conservation efforts such as not watering their lawns one day a week.#
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-salmon17apr17,1,1130229.story
Judge slams
He says study fails to weigh warming's effects on salmon
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that water regulators failed to consider the effects of global warming and other environmental issues related to the decline of
U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger said a 2004 study prepared by federal regulators to support the increased water exports was scientifically inadequate.
"There is no analysis of adverse effect on critical habitat," Wanger wrote about winter-run chinook salmon.
The judge also ruled that there was a "total failure to address, adequately explain and analyze the effects of global climate change on the species."
The study had concluded that more water could be taken from
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the National Marine Fisheries Service, the agencies that prepared the study at issue, plan to submit a new study by the end of the year, said fisheries service spokesman Jim Milbury.
"I'm sure they will look at the judge's opinion in developing it," he said.
Wanger scheduled a hearing April 25 to begin determining how the delta should be managed until the new study is published.
A group of environmentalists, fishermen and American Indians sued the two federal agencies in 2005.
"This is a historic decision," said Mike Sherwood, an Earthjustice lawyer who represents the environmentalists. "It may well be the turning point to reverse the decline toward extinction of these fish."
Scientists have pointed to increased water exports from the delta as one possible cause for an unprecedented decline in the number of chinook salmon returning to spawn in the
Earlier this month, federal fishery regulators voted to ban salmon fishing along the
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/17/BAMP106RLK.DTL
Federal ruling on fish protection may limit California
Sacramento
By Matt Weiser, staff writer
A federal judge's ruling Wed-nesday could mean less water for farms and cities – this time to protect salmon and steelhead.
Judge Oliver Wanger in
Wanger's ruling came in a lawsuit challenging a 2004 plan by state and federal agencies to change reservoir operations.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and National Marine Fisheries Service violated the Endangered Species Act in approving rules to guide these new operations, called a biological opinion, Wanger ruled.
The biological opinion was controversial from the beginning. A draft prepared by Fisheries Service biologists in
The agencies behaved in an "arbitrary and capricious" manner, the judge found, by failing to include measures to recover the species, which include
The evidence included findings by the agencies themselves that the new operations could kill 20 percent of each species.
"In practical terms this forecasts elimination of spring-run salmon from the
Reclamation operates
"I would characterize this as a huge victory for the salmon, and it is historic," said Mike Sherwood of Oakland-based Earthjustice, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, which include six environmental groups, two fishing groups and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. "It could be a turning point in our struggle to stop the slide towards extinction of these species."
The California Department of Water Resources, which operates the state's Delta water pumping system, was a co-defendant in the lawsuit filed in 2005.
"It's another indicator the system we have now is not working well for the environment or for water reliability," said Jerry Johns, DWR deputy director.
Judge Wanger on Wednesday ordered the biological opinion rewritten, a process the agencies have already begun and expect to finish in December. Wanger may impose interim remedies to protect fish until the new opinion is complete. He set an April 25 court date for that purpose.
Wanger is the same judge who, in December, imposed new rules on state and federal Delta pumps to protect the threatened Delta smelt. Those rules are expected to reduce water deliveries by as much as 30 percent this year to 25 million Californians.
The latest case mainly affects water releases from reservoirs, especially Shasta, north of
River temperatures must be no more than 56 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure spawning and survival of young fish. Interim remedies could require more water to be released in summer, which may mean less water to meet farm and urban demand in dry fall months.
"There will be an impact, but probably not much of one immediately," said Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. "Starting now, we've got a lot less system (capacity) for water supply, and we've got to operate it more for fisheries."
Quinn said
It was unclear on Wednesday whether the decision will affect Folsom Lake and the
The lawsuit did not involve fall-run chinook salmon. But remedies ordered by the judge may benefit this species along with the others, Sherwood said.
A sharp decline in fall-run chinook last year prompted wildlife officials Tuesday to impose the first-ever total closure of salmon fishing on the ocean, which will last through April 2009. This is predicted to cost the state's economy $255 million and 2,263 jobs.#
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/868564.html
Water plan doesn't protect fish well,
By John Ellis, staff writer
Environmentalists on Wednesday won another victory in their battle with the federal government over fish and the state's massive water-delivery system.
A 151-page decision issued by U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger in
The practical effects of the decision will not be known until further hearings are held before Wanger. Those hearings, the first of which is scheduled for April 25, will address what to do next about protecting the fish and their habitat.
But -- as with the tiny delta smelt, a fish for which Wanger issued a similar ruling last year -- the result will likely be further reductions in water deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for both state and federal water projects.
Such cuts would be felt all across the state, from urban users in the Bay Area and
Sarah Woolf, a spokeswoman for the Westlands Water District -- the second-largest consumer of delta water -- said the ruling was expected.
"It's exactly what [environmentalists] did with the delta smelt," she said. "This is definitely the pattern that they're going to continue. They're just trying to put a stop to all these water deliveries and use of the [delta] pumps."
Mike Sherwood, an attorney for Earthjustice, one of nine plaintiffs who sued the federal government to provide more protection for the salmon and steelhead, called Wanger's ruling "historic." He said the ruling makes it clear that there are limits to the amount of water that can be exported to the state's south.
"This could finally turn the corner on stopping the continuing decline of these species toward extinction, and hopefully get them on the road to recovery," he said.
Last year, Wanger threw out a key U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study on delta water management because it did not adequately address effects on the delta smelt.
Wednesday's ruling, on a 2006 lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in
Wanger's decision found, in part:
* The study's conclusion that continued operation of the state and federal water projects would not jeopardize the species' existence and would not hurt their habitat was not based on supporting evidence and was contradicted by the opinion itself.
* "Best available science" was not used to prepare the study.
* The bureau and the National Marine Fisheries Service failed to address the effects of global warming on the three species in preparing the report. Wanger made a similar finding in the delta smelt case.
The decision comes at a time when there is mounting evidence that salmon populations are in decline. On Tuesday, state wildlife regulators banned recreational salmon fishing off the state's coast this year, and last week federal regulators closed the
Environmentalists had challenged the federal water plan, which would have allowed increased water exports from the delta, saying it would reverse many protections for the endangered salmon, particularly during the winter run.
For instance, at an October hearing before Wanger on the salmon and steelhead lawsuit, Sherwood, the Earthjustice attorney, argued that a 1993 federal study required that 1.9 million acre-feet be held in
The State Water Contractors -- an organization representing more than two dozen agencies that buy water from the state -- on Wednesday called for a collaborative effort with the environmental community that balances the needs of the environment and the economy.
Altering water project operations won't help the current crisis, the contractors said, because experts say that changing ocean conditions are the most likely reason for the decrease in salmon runs.
But
"The [salmon] adults returning to spawn this year are all down," he said. "This decision doesn't come a moment too soon." #
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/533190.html
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