Court Decision Could Push California Salmon to the Brink?
Posted May 18, 2010 in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
This morning, the federal court in Fresno issued a ruling in the litigating challenging the biological opinion protecting endangered salmon and steelhead in California's Bay-Delta. Judge Wanger found on a preliminary basis that the federal agencies had not strictly adhered to all of the necessary procedures in the biological opinion that protects salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and orcas from the effects of the California water projects (CVP and SWP). The Court declined to issue the injunction waiving the protections of the biological opinion, finding that no alternative measure had been offered that would adequately protect the species, and has ordered a hearing tomorrow to discuss how to proceed.
The Court recognized that pumping restrictions are necessary to avoid jeopardizing the continued existence of wild California salmon and steelhead. In its ruling, the Court found that unrestricted pumping (as some of the Plaintiffs had proposed) could cause irreparable harm to California's wild salmon and steelhead, as well as the fishing and tribal communities that depend on healthy salmon runs. Indeed, the Court recently concluded that "the economic pain and hardship has been no less to the fishing industry that relies on salmon than has been the economic consequence to the Central Valley agricultural community.”
However, out of the numerous actions and requirements in the nearly 800 page biological opinion, the Court concluded that specific numeric flow restrictions in two of the biological opinion's protective measures were not adequately explained by the agency. The Court found that it could not conclude if these measures "are adequately protective, too protective, or not protective enough." The Court ordered a hearing tomorrow (and possibly additional hearings in the future) to determine if some other level of pumping levels would be safe for the species.
In contrast to the Court's ruling today, numerous peer reviews found that the biological opinion is based on the best available science. Indeed, the Court’s ruling does not address the recent National Research Council report, which concluded that the biological opinions in the Delta are scientifically justified and that alternative measures would not adequately protect the species.
We are disappointed by today's ruling, which is bad news for anyone who cares about California's wild salmon. However, we will continue to urge the Court to uphold these protections, as they are critical to protecting California’s wild salmon, the fishing and Tribal communities that depend on them and the health of the Bay-Delta estuary, which supplies drinking water to millions of Californians.
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Comments
Mike — May 19 2010 12:25 PM
For years government agencies have said that export pumping is at fault for declining Delta fish populations, yet Judge Oliver Wanger’s ruling could not have been more clear; the government acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” and the pumping restrictions were “a product of guesstimations”. The agencies involved formulated actions that lack scientific justification and they failed to evaluate alternatives other than reduced pumping. Those are strong words. The judge also acknowledged that protections for fish are important. That’s something farmers have never debated. The answer, according to the judge and we agree, must be a balanced solution that doesn’t sacrifice the needs of people for the sake of fish, especially when bad science is used to justify regulatory actions. Mike Wade, California Farm Water Coalition
Emily Green — May 19 2010 02:05 PM
Thanks for the update. I don't know who the previous commenter is, but his remarks are facile and sly. While pollutants, changing algal conditions and invasive species are all clearly causing damage in the Delta, the most obvious impact -- massive water withdrawals -- are clearly intensifying their impacts and impacting marine life. To point to the other causes and suggest that they are the culprits is disingenuous, and to demand authoritative answers for marine collapse is unrealistic. In this context, it is the people who can compromise -- who can curb pollution and lessen and better manage their water demands from the Delta -- and not the fish, who cannot go without water. No amount of sophistry will change that.
Mike Hudson — May 19 2010 02:29 PM
Hello Mike Wade,
Science is a funny thing; it can be laid out in many different ways depending on the stakeholder’s interests. We can fight over science in the courts for the next millennium and still not come to a conclusion we all agree on…
So let’s set the scientific mumbo jumbo aside for a second and talk about where this is going. Where will the Farm Water Coalition draw the line?
Looking at the facts that farm water diversions from the Delta have increased substantially over the last decade, and also at the fact that today a cutback of just a few percent of these increased diversions seems to bring your entire world to a halt – where do we go from here?
Let’s say we build you many more dams, and 5 new peripheral canals – sooner or later we will run into a hard boundary set by Mother Nature. There’s only so much water around.
Any time a regulation comes up that acknowledges that fact and tries to restrict farm water use, your community is intent to overthrow this regulation and demands ever more water. So let’s pump all the water you want, let the smelt, salmon, sturgeon, and everything else you deem “unnecessary” go extinct – but it still won’t fix the problem and you will run out of water again after everything in your wake is dead.
And then what?
Is this your vision of our future to create a world where nothing thrives but Almonds and other farmed crops? I hope not.
So what are your prudent alternatives to steer us away from such a future? Can your community show any kind of restraint at all?
Mike Hudson
Small Boat Commercial Salmon Fishermen’s Association
Eric — May 19 2010 10:24 PM
The mere fact that there are multiple factors that could be contributing to a problem should not excuse us from taking precautions to limit the impact of those factors we know are involved -- even if we cannot assign precise weights to the importance of each contributing factor.
Hollie Giacone — May 19 2010 11:55 PM
FINALLY the tuth about the Delta and It's DIRTY secret are coming to light,,,I have listened to so called "enviromentalists" scream about water diversions and dying fish for years and the ENTIRE time they stand by and allow BILLIONS of gallons of SEWAGE to be dumped into the Delta. It has been going on for YEARS...and nothing has been done to help save the fish from the filth of Northern California or the millions of HUMAN BEINGS that rely on that water to DRINK. All the while the Elite City dwellers of San Francisco enjoy thier pure drinking water from Hetch Hetchy. It is digusting and dispicable that SEWAGE was ever ALLOWED to be dumped in our fresh water supply. Even the pioneers didn't put their outhouses in their wells... and we are supposed to be so very cosmopolitan ...Most people South of the Delta that are that are giving the wastewater of the north to to their CHILDREN don't even know that the North is polluting their drinking water and the REAL reason the fish are dying. The polluting municipalities don't want to upgrade their systems to clean the water so they have to have MORE and MORE water to flush their big Delta Toilet.....MORE population MORE flushing... and where do they send it to when all of their flushing is done... to the OCEAN!!! Wonder why the fish are sick??? They are poisoning them. All the while they LIE and point the finger at the farmers...Shame on you! Anyone who does LOVE this planet should be FURIOUS!! IF you are REALLY about helping the enviornment STOP DUMPING YOUR CRAP IN THE DELTA !!! Lets come up with a better way to dispose of the human waste of the north than dumping it the water supply for the other two-thirds of the state. BEWARE... The Californian people of South of Sacramento are starting to WAKE UP.. Nor Cal your DIRTY SECRET is out!