[env-trinity] Judge denies Westlands' request to block higher Trinity River flows/Take Action Now to Stop Jerry Brown's Delta Tunnels/C-WIN intends to file suit against S.L.O. County
Dan Bacher
danielbacher at fishsniffer.com
Wed Aug 26 18:52:28 PDT 2015
Good evening
Wow - it's been a busy day in the water wars! Here are my latest three
posts: 1. my article about the Judge O'Neill decision against
Westlands' attempt to block Trinity River releases; (2) an action
alert to stop the tunnels and (3) today's C-WIN press release
regarding notice of intent to file a lawsuit against San Luis Obispo
County for approving new wells without the EIRs required by CEQA
(California Environmental Quality Act).
Thanks!
Dan
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/08/26/18776696.php
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/26/1415828/-Judge-O-Neill-denies-Westlands-request-to-block-higher-Trinity-River-flows
"The potential harm to the Plaintiffs from the potential, but far from
certain, loss of added water supply in 2015 or 2016 does not outweigh
the potentially catastrophic damage that 'more likely than not' will
occur to this year’s salmon runs in the absence of the 2015 FARs,"
ruled Judge O'Neill.
judge_o_neill_s_aug._26_decision.pdf
download PDF (231.9 KB)
Judge denies Westlands' request to block higher Trinity River flows
by Dan Bacher
A federal judge today denied a request by the San Luis Delta Mendota
Water Authority and Westlands Water District for a temporary
restraining order and preliminary injunction against the higher
supplemental flows from Trinity Reservoir being released to stop a
fish kill on the lower Klamath River.
The releases that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation began last week,
resulting from requests by the Hoopa Valley and Yurok Tribe fishery
scientists to release Trinity River water to stop a fish kill like
that one that killed up to 78,000 adult salmon in September 2002, will
continue. The two Tribes, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman's
Associations and the Institute for Fisheries Resources were
intervenors for the defendant, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and the
U.S. Department of Interior, in the litigation.
In his decision, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence O'Neill said, "The
Court concludes that there is no clear showing of likelihood of
success on the merits. Even if Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the
merits of at least one of their claims against Reclamation in
connection with the 2015 FARs (FARs = Flow Augmentation Releases), the
balance of the harms does not warrant an injunction at this time."
"The potential harm to the Plaintiffs from the potential, but far from
certain, loss of added water supply in 2015 or 2016 does not outweigh
the potentially catastrophic damage that 'more likely than not' will
occur to this year’s salmon runs in the absence of the 2015 FARs,"
ruled O'Neill.
This denial of the request by corporate agribusiness interests to halt
badly needly flows for the lower Klamath River is a big victory for
the Hoopa Valley Tribe, Yurok Tribe and fishing groups. Both this year
and last, Tribal activists held protests demanding the release of
Trinity River to stop a fish kill.
"I'm very pleased with the decision in terms of the protection of fish
and the preventive flows being released," said Mike Orcutt, Fisheries
Director of the Hoopa Valley Tribe. "Humboldt County's annual right to
50,000 acre feet of water from Trinity Reservoir was a key part of the
court's decision and reasoning. We're glad that court interpreted the
use of that water, as we have advocated for years, for beneficial uses
including protecting fish. We have never give up on this souce of
water supply since 2003 and we have worked on securing that water for
Humboldt County and downstream users."
The 15 page decision is available here: http://mavensnotebook.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/15-1290Doc45DenyingTRO.pdf
The Bureau of Reclamation last week announced that it would release
additional water from Trinity Reservoir for the lower Klamath River to
help protect returning adult fall run Chinook salmon from a disease
outbreak and mortality. Supplemental flows from Lewiston Dam began on
Friday, August 21 and will extend into late September.
“In this fourth year of severe drought, the conditions in the river
call for us to take extraordinary measures to reduce the potential for
a large-scale fish die-off,” said Mid-Pacific Regional Director David
Murillo.
Releases from Lewiston Dam were adjusted to target 2,800 cubic feet
per second in the lower Klamath River starting last week. Flows from
Lewiston could be raised as high as 3,500 cubic feet per second for up
to five days if real-time monitoring information suggests a need for
additional supplement flows as an emergency response.
Dan Nelson, executive director of the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water
Authority, explained the reasoning behind the lawsuit that they
launched after Reclamation announced the flow release.
"As our state is faced with a water supply crisis affecting every
sector of people, businesses, and communities, an action like this is
unthinkable. This will cause irreparable damage to drought stricken
communities already facing water restrictions,” said Nelson in a press
released.
However, Judge O'Neill disagreed. "There will be those who credit the
Court for this decision, and those who will discredit the Court for
this decision. Let it be understood by both camps that the Court is
obligated to follow the law as it is. That has occurred, regardless of
the absence or presence of the popularity of the ruling," Judge
O'Neill concluded.
Trinity River water is shipped, via a tunnel through the Trinity
Mountains, to the Sacramento River watershed to Whiskeytown Reservoir
and Clear Creek. The water is used by corporate agribusiness interests
farming toxic, drainage-impaired lands on the west side of the San
Joaquin Valley to grow almonds, pistachios, watermelons and other crops.
For more information about the the battle by the Tribes to get
supplemental flows released, go to: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/08/05/18775808.php
2. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/26/1415666/-Take-Action-Now-to-Stop-Jerry-Brown-s-Delta-Tunnels
Take Action Now to Stop Jerry Brown's Delta Tunnels
by Dan Bacher
If you want to save the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the
largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas, and Pacific Coast
fisheries, it's time to take action against Governor Jerry Brown's
Delta Tunnels Plan.
The pork barrel project, if constructed, would hasten the extinction
of Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River Chinook salmon, Delta
and longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other fish species, as well as
imperil salmon and steelhead populations on the Trinity and Klamath
rivers.
The last round of public comments on the California Water Fix,
formerly called the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP, ends in just 65
days (Oct 30).
That's why it is essential that you submit a public comment to go on
record opposing the Delta tunnels/CA WaterFix/BDCP. This will be your
last chance to submit a public comment -- federal agencies may attempt
to permit this plan as early as 2016!
Go to the Restore the Delta website to submit a public comment, sign
their petition to send an automatic letter or create your own using
their letter template: http://restorethedelta.org/take-action-oppose-the-delta-tunnels/
"Let's get our neighbors, friends and family members to submit as many
public comments as we can opposing the tunnels," according to an
action alert from Restore the Delta (RTD). "Together, Californians can
stop this insane project. We have done it before and we can do it
again!"
Caleen Sisk, Chief and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe,
emphasized what is at stake if the tunnels are built.
"I believe that the Delta should stay the same for future generations
of salmon and people," said Chief Sisk. "The tunnels will kill the
Delta by diverting all the Sacramento River, the tunnels are being
build large enough to divert the entire river. This will be a
irreversible water tragedy affecting our air and food sources and
clean waters!"
According to RTD, "The impact on wildlife and plant species in the
Delta that depend on freshwater include the Delta smelt, chinook
salmon, steelhead, San Joaquin kit fox, and tricolored blackbird,
protected species already on the brink that will face decimation due
to a diminishing food-web."
On the ocean, the ESA-listed South Pacific Puget Sound Orca Whales
depend on migrating Central Valley salmon that will be harmed by less
water flowing through the Delta.
The tunnels plan also appears to ignore Section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act, which prohibits federal agency actions that are likely to
jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or that
“result in the destruction or adverse modification of [critical]
habitat of [listed] species.”
The problem is that the Brown administration refuses to consider any
other options to the tunnels to solve our ecosystem and water supply
problems, such as the Environmental Water Caucus' responsible exports
plan that sets an annual cap on Delta water exports of 3 million acre-
feet.
Our tax and ratepayer dollars would be much better spent on:
• More aggressive water efficiency program statewide that would apply
to both urban and agricultural users.
• Funding water recycling and groundwater recharging projects
statewide that would be billions of dollars less expensive for rate
payers than constructing a new version of the Peripheral Canal or
major new surface storage dams. Meanwhile, these projects move
communities towards water sustainability.
• Retiring thousands of acres of impaired and pollution generating
farmlands in the southern San Joaquin Valley and using those lands for
more sustainable and profitable uses, such as solar energy generation.
• Improving Delta levees in order to address potential earthquake,
flooding, and future sea level rise concerns at a cost between $2 to
$4 billion and is orders of-magnitude less expensive than major
conveyance projects that are currently being contemplated.
• Increasing freshwater flows through the Delta to reduce pollutants
so ecosystems and wildlife can be restored.
• Installing modern, state-of-the-art fish screens at the south Delta
pumps to reduce the "salvage" of Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento
River Chinook salmon, Sacrament splittail, Delta and longfin smelt,
striped bass, threadfin shad, American shad and a host of other fish
species.
The Delta smelt, an indicator species that demonstrates the health of
the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, reached a new record low
population level in 2014, according to the California Department of
Fish and Wildlife's fall midwater trawl survey released this January.
Department staff found a total of only eight smelt at a total of 100
sites sampled each month from September through December. Since then,
the Delta surveys have revealed the continuing march of Delta fish
species to the edge of extinction. (https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentId=92840
)
The surveys were initiated in 1967, the same year the State Water
Project began exporting water from the Delta. The surveys show that
population indices of Delta smelt, striped bass, longfin smelt,
threadfin shad, American shad and Sacramento splittail have declined
97.80%, 99.70%, 99.98%, 97.80%, 91.90%, and 98.50%, respectively,
between 1967 and 2014, according to Bill Jennings, Executive Director
of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA).
Fortunately, people throughout California strongly oppose Jerry
Brown's salmon-killing tunnels. Outside the plush Los Angeles
headquarters of agribusiness tycoon Stewart Resnick on August 19, 25
protesters chanted, "Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Corporate Greed has got to go"
and “Mayor Garcetti, have some will. Don’t let Resnick raise our bills.”
The protesters, including Los Angeles ratepayers, community leaders
and representatives of water watchdog groups, demanded that Los
Angeles Mayor Garcetti protect LA water ratepayers from funding the
massive Delta tunnels project promoted by Governor Jerry Brown to
export more water to corporate agribusiness interests and oil
companies on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. To read the full
story, go to: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/08/24/18776566.php.
3. http://www.calitics.com/diary/15769/san-luis-obispo-county-notified-of-intended-lawsuits-to-apply-ceqa-to-new-wells
Below is the press release from the California Water Impact Network (C-
WIN) regarding a pending lawsuit against the County of San Luis Obispo
in an attempt to secure CEQA compliance with well drilling permits:
https://www.c-win.org/content/media-release-c-win-notifies-san-luis-obispo-county-notified-intended-lawsuit-apply-ceqa-new
August 26, 2015 For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Carolee Krieger, California Water Impact Network, 805-969-0824 caroleekrieger7 at gmail.com
Babak Naficy: Law Offices of Babak Naficy, 805-593-0926 babaknaficy at sbcglobal.net
San Luis Obispo County Notified of Intended Lawsuits to Apply CEQA to
New Wells
Proposed SLO Conservation Program Will Not Prevent Aquifer Overdraft
The California Water Impact Network (C-WIN, online at www.c-win.org)
has notified the County of San Luis Obispo of its intent to file
lawsuits challenging the County’s approval of new water well permits
without the environmental impact reviews required by the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). “Groundwater is the critical water
source for San Luis Obispo County,” says Carolee Krieger, the
executive director of C-WIN. “The county has little in the way of
surface sources, and State Water Project deliveries are both minimal
and unreliable. Residents live or die by groundwater.”
The County's proposed water conservation program is based on "offsets"
that are inadequate to stop overdraft of local aquifers, Krieger says.
“The only option left for protecting dwindling groundwater resources
is to apply CEQA to all new permit applications,” Krieger says.
“Without specific language that proscribes overpumping, any proposed
‘water conservation program’ is meaningless. It’s just verbiage, hot
air, and wheel spinning. California is in a water emergency, and the
situation in San Luis Obispo County is especially dire. We can’t
afford half measures that will only exacerbate the crisis.”
Krieger says the lawsuit initially will challenge wells not subject to
conservation offsets because the county’s emergency offset program
expires on August 27, and the adoption date for a new proposed offset
program has not been finalized. Ultimately, the lawsuit may address
all new wells.
A letter signed by Devin Best, the executive director of the Upper
Salinas-Las Tablas Resource Conservation District, noted the plan
fails to meet its own stipulated goals of providing a means to
“substantially reduce groundwater extraction and lowering of
groundwater levels in the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin (PRGB).”
“The PRGB is one of the largest and most important aquifers in the
state,” Best says. “Not only does the current plan fail to address
overdrafting of the PRGB. It provides insufficient information on
impacts to hydrology, water quality, and biological resources. The RCD
is ready to offer its services and expertise to mitigate the plan’s
shortcomings.”
Given that overdrafting is causing severe groundwater depletion, says
Best, “There must be a process that assesses the environmental effect
of new wells. CEQA provides that process.”
In explaining C-WIN’s decision to sue the county, Krieger observed
that groundwater overdraft is an accelerating problem throughout the
state, citing recent data from NASA confirming massive land subsidence
throughout the Central Valley due to groundwater depletion.
“This isn’t a temporary problem that will disappear if heavy
precipitation returns,” Krieger says. Aquifers can take years to
recharge in the best of circumstances, and overdraft can greatly
reduce groundwater availability because land subsidence destroys
aquifer structure and holding capacity. Land subsidence also
compromises infrastructure such as pipelines, roads, and bridges. We
have to protect San Luis Obispo County’s aquifers before it’s too late.”
Read the Notice of Intent: https://www.c-win.org/webfm_send/472
#
The California Water Impact Network (C-WIN, online at www.c-win.org)
promotes the just and environmentally sustainable use of California's
water, including instream flows and groundwater reserves, through
research, planning, media outreach, and litigation. www.c-win.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www2.dcn.org/pipermail/env-trinity/attachments/20150826/3bbd8f10/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: judge_o_neill_s_aug._26_decision.pdf_600_.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 87740 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://www2.dcn.org/pipermail/env-trinity/attachments/20150826/3bbd8f10/attachment.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 11954675_10153240686409563_2580408545267143482_n.png
Type: image/png
Size: 263467 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://www2.dcn.org/pipermail/env-trinity/attachments/20150826/3bbd8f10/attachment.png>
More information about the env-trinity
mailing list