Central Valley Project contractors file lawsuit against the state – Maven’s 4/28/20
“[Tuesday] a coalition of water providers filed suit to protect the Central Valley Project (CVP) and the farms, businesses, residents and wildlife refuges it serves in 17 California counties. … the State of California recently filed suit challenging the operations of the CVP and now, through its Incidental Take Permit (ITP), the State could further limit the ability of the CVP to deliver water to its customers.
Tim Stroshane, policy analyst for Restore the Delta said:
“Desperate times are leading to desperate measures from state and federal water contractors. They want as few rules as possible over their dream of a water transfer market sluiced by the proposed Delta tunnel project. Fortunately, the state’s incidental take permit commendably took the path protecting Delta fish and water quality. Federal scientists last year almost took that path but were overruled by the Trump Administration, undoing federal rules that would protect Delta fish and water quality. A resumption of drought looms, and the contractors are scared. It’s ironic that the contractors are suing the state claiming that they want to ‘save’ the voluntary agreements.”
– tim@restorethedelta.org
State Water Contractors Sue State – Maven’s 4/29/20
Today, the State Water Contractors (SWC) filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) over the March 31 Incidental Take Permit (ITP) for the long-term operation of the State Water Project (SWP). The ITP is a permit required under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) to protect endangered and threatened fish species.
Green groups sue over Trump rollback of Obama-era waterway protections – The Hill 4/29/20
Two separate coalitions of environmental groups sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, challenging a rollback of protections for the nation’s waterways. The Navigable Waters Protection Rule finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in January limits federal protections for smaller bodies of water, a move critics say risks contamination of larger ones used for drinking water.
Democratic Congressmembers Applaud Democratic Congressmembers applaud California leadership efforts to uphold strict science-based policymaking – Letter 4/28/20
We strongly support the State of California’s legal challenge to the Trump Administration’s scientifically unsound biological opinions for water project operations in the Bay-Delta, and we were heartened by the State’s recent court filings against the administration’s environmental rollbacks.
Trump opens floodgates, and acrimony swamps Calif. – E&E News 4/27/20
On the campaign trail in 2016, President Trump swung into California’s agricultural hub and vowed to deliver more water to the drought-ridden state’s farmers. “We’re going to solve your water problem,” he declared at a May 2016 rally in Fresno.
Three years into his administration, Trump is now opening the floodgate to deliver on that promise, setting up the most intense water war between the federal government and California in the state’s history.