Federal ruling slows delta pumping
Feds, state will move less water to users, including Westlands.
John Ellis
Fresno Bee
03/31/2010
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta pumps will be ratcheted back today after a federal judge in Fresno rejected a request to keep them operating temporarily at current levels.
Wednesday's ruling by U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger means that for the next two months, both the federal and state water pumps will move much less water to users, including the Westlands Water District and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
It's the latest loss for farmers and other water users in the decades-long battle over moving water through the state. That battle continues today when water users and environmentalists square off in Wanger's court in what promises to be a pivotal case.
The seasonal cutbacks that Wednesday's ruling allows are part of a controversial management plan for endangered spring-run Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead. Authorities say the pumps endanger juvenile fish heading out to the Pacific Ocean.
"I am disappointed in the court's ruling, but I understand the basis for it," said Westlands general manager Tom Birmingham, who personally argued the case.
Federal ruling slows delta pumping
Wanger found that the National Marine Fisheries Service "touched all the bases" in putting together a management plan -- known as a biological opinion -- for the salmon and steelhead, Birmingham said.
Therefore, Wanger wouldn't agree to the request by users to keep the water flowing. Instead, today's cutbacks will happen as planned.
Kate Poole, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said there have been mountains of testimony on the issue, and the federal government and its environmental allies continue to prevail.
At this point, she said, both sides should "work to focus on solutions rather than rehash arguments."
Wanger's ruling, however, was just the opening chapter in what is likely a climactic battle over the management plans for not only salmon and steelhead, but the threatened delta smelt as well.
Water users want both management plans invalidated, claiming they are flawed and were put together without using the best available science. They also claim the plans don't take into account the effect on the environment, including humans.
The next phase, which starts today, involves water users seeking an injunction on the management plans for the smelt and salmon. The injunction is closer to a permanent legal ruling than the temporary order Wanger ruled Wednesday.
Because part of the next-phase ruling will involve the likelihood of success at a future trial, Wanger's decision on the injunction will likely send a strong signal to both sides how the cases will ultimately end.
Wanger has set aside a week's worth of court days to hear arguments, which will likely be low on drama and high on technical analysis and expert opinion from seasoned biologists. A decision is expected in the latter part of next week.
Beyond that, one more series of hearings on the smelt this spring and one on the salmon this fall likely will decide once and for all -- barring appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- whether agricultural and urban water users will be able to derail the current management plans.
The plans resulted in massive water cutbacks for not only farmers and ranchers, but urban users as well.
The dispute dates to 2007, when Wanger invalidated a delta smelt management plan issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because it did not adequately protect the tiny fish, a violation of the federal Endangered Species Act.
He followed that up with a similar decision in April 2008, which invalidated a similar plan for winter-run Chinook salmon, spring-run Chinook salmon and the Central Valley steelhead.
