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<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Judge
says better management of delta needed<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Associated
Press – 5/25/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By
Paul Elias, staff writer</SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">SAN
FRANCISCO</SPAN></FONT></st1:City><FONT color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"> - The government's management of the
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:City></st1:place> delta
runs afoul of sound science and a new management plan is needed for a region
that supplies most of the state's water, a federal judge ruled on Friday.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Fresno</st1:City></st1:place> said
federal and state water agencies have failed to adequately protect fish called
smelt when pumping water from the delta. He said he wanted a new plan proposed
within 30 days. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">"The Delta smelt is undisputedly in
jeopardy as to its survival and recovery," Wanger wrote in tossing out a 2005
pumping plan developed by federal scientists, who found the current program
didn't jeopardize the fish. That finding was "arbitrary, capricious, and
contrary to law." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">Giant pumps are constantly sucking water
out of the delta and sending most of it to thirsty <st1:place w:st="on">Southern
California</st1:place> cities via an aqueduct visible along long stretches of
Interstate 5. Lowered water levels in the delta are bad news for the smelt
because their habitat often becomes warmer and saltier than they are accustomed.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The Fish and Wildlife Service in July 2004 said the
Bureau of Reclamation's water management plans would not jeopardize endangered
and threatened delta fish. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">It renewed the scientific opinion in
February 2005. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">The Natural Resources Defense Council and
five other environmental groups sued the Fish and Wildlife Service in February
2005. The action followed the federal agency's ruling that said increases in
state and federal pumping from the delta to benefit farmers and <st1:place
w:st="on">Southern California</st1:place> cities would not harm federally
protected delta smelt. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The environmentalists asked a federal court to
invalidate that opinion, which Wanger did late Friday. "I think it sends a
pretty clear message to the agency that they can't treat the delta like a piece
of plumbing," said Earthjustice attorney Andrea Treece, who represented many of
the environmentalists who sued. #</SPAN></FONT><BR clear=all><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><A href=""><FONT size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">http://www.dailynews.com/search//ci_5991786</SPAN></FONT></A></SPAN></B><FONT
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Judge
rules against water system; </SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Action
is another win for environmentalists concerned about how delta pumping
operations affect the threatened native smelt<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Los
Angeles</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:City><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">
Times – 5/26/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By
Bettina Boxall, staff writer</SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">For the second time this year, a judge has ruled that
management of <st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State>'s water system is
illegally imperiling fish, making it increasingly likely that the state will
have to pump less water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to Southern
California cities and <st1:place w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place>
farms.<BR><BR>U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger issued the ruling Friday and
ordered a hearing for next week at which he could issue a stay in the case,
forestalling any immediate effect on the pumping operation.<BR><BR>The ruling
was another victory for environmentalists who have been attacking the state's
delta operations on multiple legal fronts, arguing that water shipments are
helping drive the once abundant native delta smelt to extinction.<BR><BR>"I
think it certainly demonstrates we need to take a pretty hard look at what we're
doing to this system and find other ways of meeting water needs than 'Let's pump
the delta dry,' " said Andrea Treece, associate attorney for Earthjustice, which
won the ruling on behalf of a coalition of environmental and sport-fishing
groups.<BR><BR>"I don't think anyone is trying to get the pumps shut down.
They're trying to save a species."<BR><BR>Wanger invalidated a U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service opinion that had concluded that the federal and state water
operations did not jeopardize the survival of the tiny smelt, which is protected
under the federal Endangered Species Act.<BR><BR>"The delta smelt is
indisputably in jeopardy as to its survival and recovery," Wanger wrote in a
120-page opinion. <BR><BR>The "no-jeopardy finding is arbitrary, capricious and
contrary to law."<BR><BR>The fish and wildlife agency was already rewriting the
opinion but is not expected to issue a new one until next year.<BR><BR>In a
separate case this spring, a state judge threatened to turn off the delta pumps
after finding that the state Department of Water Resources had not received
proper authorization under the California Endangered Species Act to operate the
pumping.<BR><BR>The state has obtained a stay in that case pending an
appeal.<BR><BR>Meanwhile, the smelt's fate has grown more precarious. When
researchers went looking for larval smelt last week, they caught 25, compared
with 300 last year.<BR><BR>"The survey this year is much lower than we
expected," said Jerry Johns, water resources deputy director.<BR><BR>But Johns
argued it was wrong to blame the smelt's plummeting numbers entirely on the
water operations.<BR><BR>"We've got to be looking at this from a broader
standpoint," he said. <BR><BR>Scientists suspect a number of factors besides the
pumping are at play in the smelt's decline, including toxic contaminants in the
delta and invasive species that are altering the waterway's food
sources.<BR><BR>Johns said toxic levels of pesticides were found in the smelt's
spawning waters this year. "This is the first time we've seen a toxic event like
this," he said.<BR><BR>"You're going to get started on an immediate solution,
but we need to turn the right knob. It's possible we turn the pumping knob and
nothing happens to the delta smelt."<BR><BR>The court rulings are placing
increasing pressure on one of the largest water diversion projects in the world.
<BR><BR>The pumps are so powerful they can reverse flows in the delta's water
channels and have changed the balance of salinity in the delta, which empties
into <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.<BR><BR>"I hope it's
marking a turning point where we can force some real change in how this system
is exploited," Treece said of the rulings. #<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href=""><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal">http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-smelt26may26,1,6873589.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california</SPAN></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Another
judge agrees: Projects harm delta fish<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Contra
Costa Times – 5/26/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By
Mike Taugher, staff writer</SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">A federal judge Friday ruled that a permit
allowing massive water delivery projects to be built in the delta is illegal
because it fails to account for the risk posed to a species of tiny endangered
fish. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">It is the second time in two months that a
court has declared the state's water projects in violation of endangered species
laws. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">The ruling comes the same week as a new
study was released showing the delta smelt population has plunged closer to
extinction. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Fresno</st1:City></st1:place> did not
immediately revoke water agencies' ability to operate, saying such a step would
amount to a "draconian" impact on the state's farms and cities.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">However, his 120-page order seems likely
to lead to cuts in the amount of water taken out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin
River Delta for use in the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">East</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType>, Silicon Valley, <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType> and <st1:place w:st="on">Southern
California</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">At issue is a 2005 document issued by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that is supposed to analyze the impact the water
projects have on delta smelt and then set limits on those projects to ensure the
fish does not become extinct. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Wanger ruled that the document failed to include
information that showed smelt populations were in very bad shape, and that it
opted for a voluntary approach instead of setting firm requirements to protect
the fish. The order said the Fish and Wildlife Service's document was too
lenient to satisfy the Endangered Species Act. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">"I think it sends a pretty strong signal
that the agencies have to comply with the law rather than just skate by," said
Andrea Treece, a lawyer for Earthjustice who argued the case for
environmentalists. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">The ruling is the latest development on
the future of the delta ecosystem and the state's ability to sustain massive
water deliveries. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">A separate lawsuit challenges the water
projects' authorization to harm protected salmon runs.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">Last month, an <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Alameda</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> judge ordered the state-owned pumps
shut off because no permit was ever issued under the state endangered species
law. That order has been put on hold pending appeal.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">A spokesman for the federal water agency,
the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said a new permit was in the works and scheduled
to be completed by July 2008. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">"I don't know what happens in the
meantime. We've never been here before," said the spokesman, Jeff McCracken.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">The state Department of Water Resources,
which has now been told by two different courts that its water operations are in
violation of both state and federal endangered species laws, had no comment.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">Wanger wrote in his order that he would
hold a hearing on how to remedy the situation within 30 days.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">Treece, the lawyer, said environmentalists
would press the judge and the water agencies to follow recommendations from
scientists about how to protect the fish. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">"Maybe the agencies will start listening
to their scientists now," she said. #<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href=""><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal">http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_5994242</SPAN></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Judge:
Smelt left unprotected; Delta pumping plan criticized in
ruling<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Fresno</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:City><B><FONT
face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">
Bee – 5/26/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By
John Ellis, staff writer</SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=headline11><B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">Environmentalists
are claiming victory after a federal judge in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Fresno</st1:City></st1:place> on Friday found a key opinion on the
effects of water pumping in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta on the endangered
delta smelt fish was "legally flawed." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">U.S. District
Judge Oliver W. Wanger declined to impose any remedies until after
environmentalists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confer on his decision.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">Still, Andrea
Treece, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council -- the lead plaintiff
in the case -- said "certainly reductions in [water] pumping are on the table."
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color=black size=4><SPAN
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<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">Wanger's decision
will require the agency's opinion -- known as a "biological opinion" -- to be
rewritten. That could affect those who depend on delta water deliveries, such as
<st1:place w:st="on">Southern California</st1:place> cities and the Westlands
Water District. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">The Natural
Resources Defense Council and five other environmental groups sued the Fish and
Wildlife Service in February 2005 in response to the opinion by the agency. The
opinion was assembled in response to a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation water
management plan for the delta. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">In the 120-page
decision, Wanger found the Fish and Wildlife Service didn't use the
best-available scientific data or consider climate change in putting together
its smelt impact report; failed to require any real-time protection for the tiny
fish; failed to consider impacts to the smelt's habitat; and failed to analyze
impacts on the smelt's overall population numbers. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">The decision
wasn't absolute, however. In two areas, Wanger ruled against the
environmentalists. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">"Overall, I think
it certainly is a victory and hopefully a turning point in how agencies look at
the delta and the way they approach its management," Treece said. "We hope this
sends a very clear signal that they can't ignore the law anymore."
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color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">Fish and Wildlife
Service spokesman Al Donner declined to comment specifically on the lawsuit
because agency attorneys have yet to review it. Still, Donner said, the service
has been working since last summer on an updated smelt impact report that it
hopes to complete in the near future. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">In an April
hearing on the matter before Wanger, lawyers for the environmental groups
claimed the agency had ignored 2004 data -- which showed a steep decline in the
delta smelt population -- in favor of more favorable 2003 data when it was
preparing the biological opinion. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">At stake is a
federal Endangered Species Act permit that allows both state and federal
water-delivery projects to operate. Smelt are killed in the operation of pumps
that send delta water southward. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">While the agency
works to update the opinion, Donner said, it also is working to help the delta
smelt. Recent surveys, he said, show very small numbers of juvenile smelt, which
is a concern. As part of that, he said, water pumping is at a very low level,
which he said "should be good for the smelt." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">Environmentalists
also have a parallel lawsuit -- in which similar legal arguments are being made
-- involving the effects of delta pumping on steelhead and salmon.
#<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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