[env-trinity] Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s California water plan

[Kier Associates]

Groundhog Day in the Delta

 

This judge is hearing arguments on the very same issue that Judge Otto Wanger, then of the very same Eastern District (Fresno) ruled on in 2009 in favor of fishery advocates

 

That was a challenge brought by Westlands Water District to the Coordinated Operating Agreement’s Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA) that limits Delta export-to-import ratios in order to constrain the loss of juvenile ESA-listed fish, particularly winter-run chinook salmon and Delta smelt, to the State and federal Delta pumping plants

 

So the Trump administration simply left that RPA out of its sleazy 2019 BiOp, threw some pixie dust into the hole they’d left in the BiOp and thought they could get away with it (or at least give it a try)

 

Judge Wanger commented publicly on how his ruling for PCFFA, NRDC et al. in 2009 made him a pariah in Fresno

 

This judge, an Obama appointee, doesn’t appear to be tied to ‘Fresno values’ - yet

 

Bill Kier

 

From: env-trinity [mailto:env-trinity-bounces at mailman.dcn.org] On Behalf Of Tom Stokely
Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2020 7:37 AM
To: env-trinity at mailman.dcn.org
Subject: [env-trinity] Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s California water plan

 

A copy of the decision can be found  <https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/Order%20Granting%20PI%20Motion.pdf> here.

 

https://apnews.com/0b2c2a3d9bcabf6cd33ee48ffd802429


Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s California water plan


today

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A federal court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to pump more water to the agricultural Central Valley, which critics said would threaten endangered species and salmon runs.

A judge issued a preliminary injunction in two lawsuits brought against the administration by California’s Natural Resources Agency and Environmental Protection Agency and by a half-dozen environmental groups.

The order bars the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation until May 31 from going ahead with expanding the amount of water it pumps from the San Joaquin Delta through the federal Central Valley Project.

 

The suits argued that the exports would cause irreparable harm to species protected by state and federal law. 

President Donald Trump has denounced rules meant to ensure that enough fresh water stayed in rivers and the San Francisco Bay to sustain more than a dozen endangered fish and other native species, which are struggling as agriculture and development diverts more water and land from wildlife.

But especially in the wake of a long drought, farmers in the Central Valley — a Republican enclave in a Democrat-controlled state — are thirsty for more water. The valley is the heartland for the state’s $50 billion agricultural industry. 

The administration says its proposed changes will allow for more flexibility in water deliveries. In California’s heavily engineered water system, giant state and federal water projects made up of hundreds of miles of pipes, canals, pumps and dams, carry runoff from rain and Sierra Nevada snow melt from north to south — and serve as the field of battle for lawsuits and regional political fights over competing demands for water.

“Today’s victory is critical, but the fight is not over,” state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “We have the facts, science, and the law behind us, and we look forward to making our case in court.”

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