[env-trinity] More on Ninth Circuit Trinity Decision

[Byron]

Apparently Dan Keppen, of the Klamath Water Users, believes Trinity water
should solve inadequate water problems and its effects in the Klamath River
because the Interior Department is unwilling to pursue any rational Klamath
solution.  See third paragraph from bottom.  This is folly, and ultimately
destructive to the Trinity.    Trinity flows have been provided temporarily
to provide water to save fish in the Lower Klamath.   That has been a
TEMPORARY fix in the absence of a Klamath solution for its problems by an
Interior Department that refuses to face reality.

 

TRINITY RIVER

Trinity River restoration will flow on

Legal battle over water closer to conclusion after court decision

Klamath Falls Ore. Herald & News - 11/10/04

By Dylan Darling, staff writer

A longstanding legal battle over water in the Trinity River came closer to
conclusion last Friday.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request by water users in
the Central Valley of California to reconsider an earlier decision
allocating more water to support fish runs in the Trinity.

The Trinity River flows into the Klamath River near the Pacific Ocean. The
water levels in both rivers came under increased scrutiny after a fish kill
occurred below their confluence in the fall of 2002.

Water from the upper Trinity River is diverted into the Central Valley for
use by irrigators, city water districts and a power company. Indian tribes
have for years sought to decrease the amount of water diverted.

"It's a victory for the Tribe," said Billy Colegrove, vice chairman of the
Hoopa Valley Tribe. "It's been a long, hard-fought battle and the Tribe is
happy with the results."

With the request for a rehearing rejected, the only option left for the
water users is to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We are certainly disappointed with the court's decision," said Tupper Hall,
spokesman for Westlands Water District, which has more than 600,000 acres of
farmland in western Fresno and Kings counties and is one of the districts
involved in the case.

In April, the 9th Circuit sided with the Hoopa Valley Tribe and Yurok Tribe,
and ordered implementation of a federal plan drawn up 20 years ago to reduce
diversions and carry out habitat restoration efforts on the river.

The case has been in federal court since 2000. As the case worked its way
through the legal system, U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger issued rulings
on how much water should flow down river.

Hall said the district has 90 days to appeal to the Supreme Court. He said
the district's lawyers are evaluating its options.

A system of reservoirs, pipes, pumps and tunnels pull water from the Trinity
River and dump it into the Sacramento River and the Central Valley Project.

If the 9th Circuit ruling stands, a federal plan for higher flows and
restoration in the Trinity will be in place by next irrigation season.

"Our work is just beginning," said Mike Orcutt, director of the Hoopa Valley
Tribe's fisheries department.

Dan Keppen, executive director of the Klamath Water Users Association in
Klamath Falls, said it is unclear whether the 9th Circuit ruling will be
good or bad for the Klamath Reclamation Project.

He said the group of officials that oversees management of water in the
Trinity will need to ensure that the higher flows are timed properly.

"If it is cold water and it is at the right time, it is a good thing," he
said.

He said more water should be added in the spring and fall.

 

 

Byron Leydecker

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

Consultant, California Trout, Inc.

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 ph

415 519 4810 ce

415 383 9562 fx

bwl3 at comcast.net

 <mailto:bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org> bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org
(secondary)

http://www.fotr.org

http://www.caltrout.org

 

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