Judge: Calif. illegally approved 'water bank'
Associated Press
San Francisco Chronicle
03/17/2010
An Alameda County judge has ruled that California water managers violated state environmental laws when they set up a water bank to store up supplies during last year's drought.
The California Department of Water Resources set up the bank intending to ship water from farms north of Sacramento to growers in drought-stricken areas including the San Joaquin Valley.
Environmental and sportfishing groups sued, saying even though Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a drought emergency, the state still had to comply with provisions in the California Environmental Quality Act.
