The vast inequity of creating some sort of right to be cared for in its native environment in perpetuity for a species of a common fish at such a vast cost to the economy of California is breathtaking.
Posted on 09/01/2007 8:42:08 AM PDT by SmithL
The order is expected to force water agencies up and down the state to consider water rationing next year and could force San Joaquin Valley farmers to fallow hundreds of thousands of acres, water officials said.
The momentous decision did not go as far as environmentalists hoped nor as far as farmers and other water users feared it might.
It was not clear Friday exactly how much water deliveries would be cut, but officials said the order could end up reducing water deliveries out of the Delta by about 1 million acre-feet, or enough for 2 million households. Under one worst-case scenario, state water officials said it could cut Delta water deliveries by twice that amount.
By comparison, state and federal water officials recently have been taking about 6 million acre-feet per year from the Delta -- a record high amount.
"These reductions represent the single largest court-ordered redirection of water in state history," said Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. Quinn also called the ruling the most significant endangered species decision in history.
The order by U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger comes three months after he ruled that a key permit that allows state and federal water pumps to operate even though they kill the protected Delta smelt is insufficient and illegal.
The Delta smelt population, along with several other small fish of the Delta, has suffered a dizzying decline in recent years. Water deliveries are contributing to the problem, but pollution and invasive species are believed to be factors, too.
The judge said he considered his task nearly impossible but believed the law required him to step in because federal regulators in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had failed to prescribe conditions that would protect the fish from extinction.
"The party that has responsibility for protecting the species is here, and that's the federal government," Wanger said. "What the evidence does show is there is more to be done than is being done. The impacts are extreme and severe. There's no question about that."
His order, which came after eight days of detailed and complex testimony, will put in place new restrictions on pumping during the first half of the year. Those restrictions are designed to prevent the tiny fish from being sucked into the pumps.
His order was not as strict as Fish and Wildlife Service biologists recommended in a proposal developed for his consideration, but it also was not as relaxed as the state Department of Water Resources wanted.
He also denied a request from environmentalists to require more water released from reservoirs in the fall to improve the Delta habitat with fresher water.
"This is better than what we had before, but we didn't get some things we wanted," said Trent Orr, attorney for Earthjustice, which brought the case on behalf of environmentalists.
Environmentalists argued the smelt is so imperiled it could be rendered extinct in a year or two. They said it was unclear whether the conditions imposed by Wanger were sufficient to prevent the fish from going extinct.
Urban water agencies from the Bay Area to San Diego will have to tap other water sources, dip into drought supplies or use less water, steps that could lead to shortages in the future if the restrictions persist or if next year is dry.
"We really could be in a bind if we're entering a drought or experience an earthquake that disrupts future water delivery," said Jill Duerig, general manager of the Zone 7 Water Agency, which delivers water to 200,000 people in Dublin, Livermore and Pleasanton and is especially dependent on Delta water deliveries from the state water project.
Farm districts, meanwhile, typically have less water in reserve and will be hit more immediately.
"This is a fundamental change," said Dan Nelson, executive director of the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority. He said San Joaquin Valley farms are likely to get about half as much water as they get now, and that will lead to fallowing of hundreds of thousands of acres.
The order will be in effect until the Fish and Wildlife Service drafts a new permit, which is expected about a year from now.
But water agencies are worried that its conditions represent a new status quo because it is based on conditions recommended by the Fish and Wildlife Service, which will draft the new permit under intense scrutiny.
"We are looking at an indefinite period," said Quinn.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called the ruling a "devastating blow" and said it highlighted the need for his plan to build more reservoirs and improve the way water is moved around the region.
Wanger ruled in May that the state and federal water projects, which deliver water to millions of acres of farmland and 25 million people, were operating in violation of the Endangered Species Act. It was the second court order in two months that found the water projects were violating environmental laws.
Just a month earlier, a state judge ruled the Department of Water Resources had failed to get a state permit required under the state's endangered species law. He ordered the pumps shut off entirely, but that order is on hold pending appeal.
Meanwhile, another lawsuit challenging the permit that protects endangered salmon is under way.
Of course some socialism lover will post a comment to me about people being to fat so we should cut back on food anyway. It is surprising(or maybe not, considering the impact FR has on politics)how many liberals hide out here and pretend to be conservatives.
Oh, so now lets add demands for “growing” “bio-fuels”, when there is not a single region of American agriculture where water is NOT a precious commodity, for basic food production, for homes and for industry.
At some point the followers of the cult of Gia will go to far, and there will be a huge backlash. This may be that point.
I’d like to have a closer look at this “Delta Smelt.” Recall the exotically named sub-species proliferation of the nineties.
Want to make someone’s backyard off-limits to development? “Discover” a rare sub-sub-species there.
I remember the editorial (I think it was by Krauthamer) that by the creative criteria often used by F&W people, the squirrels of Lafayette park across from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. could be classified as a unique sub-species.
“At some point the followers of the cult of Gia will go to far, and there will be a huge backlash. This may be that point.”
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I didn’t know eighties heroin-model and AIDS victim, Gia Carangi had her own cult...
I believe Angelina Jolie first got noticed for playing her in an HBO biopic.
This is how a civilization kills itself. This is how we commit national suicide with illegal aliens and Muslims picking up the pieces. The civilized European man puts himself into a straitjacket to save a few damn fish that are probably dying off for other reasons
Ideally there will be raucous protests at the state capital by farmers and farm workers. Go in there with tractors and block streets and mass arrests on the steps of the California capital
Snail Darter nightmares all over again. UC Berkeley is all I needed to see. Go Vols!
SO, FISH IN THE EYS OF THE LAW ARE MORE IMPORTANT THEN HUMANS.
Why should any of us pay taxes any more?
Is it possible the enviro-whackos have it all wrong?
Is it possible that this fish is going extinct, is found only in this one spot in the world, is found in such small numbers, because nature decided this species should not live on? If so, the enviro-whackos are going against nature, not saving it.
The vast inequity of creating some sort of right to be cared for in its native environment in perpetuity for a species of a common fish at such a vast cost to the economy of California is breathtaking.
Don’t worry. We can always import more food from China.
I guess all the enviromentalists will get their food from China from now on. When a certain species goes extinct, it has probably been on that course for some time. It’s a good thing some species have gone extinct. If they didn’t, we would have some pretty dangerous creatures around.
Breed the damn fish and let the water flow!!
It is possible, even likely, that this fish is indistinguishable from many other related fish except in the most insignificant variation. It may not even qualify as a separate species. But these lawsuits aren't about fish. They are about exerting control over innnocent citizens just trying to live their lives. Sic semper the leftist jackbooters.
The judge must think that the demise of the delta smelt may effect evolution to more demorats.
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