Author Archives: Cindy Charles

How A Lack of Regulatory Oversight Dried Up the Merced River – The State Water Board Needs to Protect Merced River Flows Now

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Cindy Charles

Merced River, Yosemite Valley, Oct. 2022 / Dead Lower Merced River  Aug. 2022 The Merced River, the iconic wild and scenic river flowing out of Yosemite National Park, died in the summer of 2022 upstream of its confluence with the … Continue reading →

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Good News for Fish: Clean Water Act Holds for PG&E Hydropower Projects on Yuba and Bear Rivers

Posted on September 13, 2023 by Cindy Charles

The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) is pleased to report that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an Order on September 5, 2023 that upholds the California State Water Board’s authority to require a “water quality certification” for new hydropower … Continue reading →

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Another CSPA Legal Victory: US Supreme Court Denies Appeal, Affirming State Regulation of Merced and Yuba Rivers

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Cindy Charles

The United States Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal regarding the California State Water Resources Control Board’s authority to set mandatory conditions in the new operating licenses for four hydroelectric projects.  The appeal was filed jointly by the … Continue reading →

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Chris Shutes – Recipient of 2023 Mark Dubois Award from Friends of the River

Posted on April 27, 2023 by Cindy Charles

Chris Shutes, Executive Director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, was a recipient of the 2023 Mark Dubois Award at the California River Awards held on April 21, 2023 at the City Club in San Francisco.  Friends of the River … Continue reading →

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CSPA Marks Poe Hiking Trail Victory over PG&E

Posted on November 23, 2022 by Cindy Charles

The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), along with American Whitewater (AW), scored a significant victory on October 20, 2022 when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an Order reaffirming a requirement that Pacific Gas and Electric Company  must construct … Continue reading →

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CSPA & Allies File Lawsuits on Groundwater Management in Butte, Colusa & Vina Subbasins

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Cindy Charles

By Cindy Charles The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), along with AquAlliance and the California Water Impact Network, filed three separate lawsuits in February 2022 against the Butte, Colusa, and Vina subbasins’ Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs). The lawsuits argue that … Continue reading →

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SF Estuary/Delta Needs Long Overdue Protections from Ballast Water Discharges

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Cindy Charles

By Cindy Charles CSPA, along with over a dozen other environmental organizations, recently signed on to a comment letter supporting limits on the discharge of ships’ ballast water into the Bay-Delta Estuary.  The letter was sent to the San Francisco … Continue reading →

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Bill Jennings Elected to California Outdoors Hall of Fame 2022

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Cindy Charles

CSPA is pleased to announce that CSPA’s Executive Director Bill Jennings has been elected to the California Outdoor Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2022. Fighting to protect fisheries and water quality for over 25 years, Bill … Continue reading →

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The Merry-Go-Round of Denial Must Stop – Transfer of Public Trust Water to Agriculture Is On Repeat

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Cindy Charles

The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and allies AquAlliance and California Water Impact Network (CWIN), filed an objection on January 7, 2022  to yet another petition to weaken flow and salinity standards that protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.  The objection urges … Continue reading →

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CSPA Wins Settlement to Remove Phone Cable from Tahoe; Cable Contains 63 Tons of Lead

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Cindy Charles

On November 4, 2021, CSPA won settlement of a lawsuit it filed against AT&T’s PacBell subsidiary regarding eight miles of abandoned phone cable on the bottom of Lake Tahoe. As a result of the settlement, PacBell will remove the decaying … Continue reading →

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Success in Stopping A Very Bad Westlands Water Deal

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Cindy Charles

CSPA, along with other environmental groups and fishing organizations, tribes, water agencies and counties, has prevailed in a lawsuit to stop the Westlands Water District from obtaining a permanent water contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.  On October 27th, … Continue reading →

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Reckless Water Transfer Would Further Jeopardize Fisheries in 2021 & 2022

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Cindy Charles

The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, California Water Impact Network, and AquAlliance filed comments to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) on July 16, 2021 in opposition to the proposed water transfer of up to 100,000 acre-feet of … Continue reading →

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Court Ruling Finds FERC 401 Waiver Not Justified – Important Implications for California Hydropower Project Licenses

Posted on July 24, 2021 by Cindy Charles

On July 2, 2021, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an important decision regarding Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, overturning an Order by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  FERC’s Order had found that the state … Continue reading →

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CSPA & Allies Tell Biden Administration Not to Endorse Flawed Voluntary Agreements

Posted on May 10, 2021 by Cindy Charles

On May 7, 2021, CSPA joined a broad coalition of organizations in a letter urging the Biden Administration not to endorse so-called “voluntary agreements” that propose inadequate environmental requirements for the San Francisco Bay-Delta and its tributaries.   The letter was … Continue reading →

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CSPA Comments on State Water Board’s Response to Climate Change

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Cindy Charles

CSPA, the California Water Impact Network and California Water Research submitted a comment letter on March 31, 2021 to the California State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights on the Water Board’s Recommendations for an Effective Water Rights … Continue reading →

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CSPA Comments on FERC’s Additional Information Request for Merced Irrigation District’s Hydro Projects

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Cindy Charles

CSPA and several allied conservation groups[1] filed comments on April 1, 2021 responding to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) staff’s February 19, 2021 Additional Information Request (AIR) for the Merced River Hydroelectric Project and the Merced Falls Hydroelectric Project (collectively, … Continue reading →

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CSPA Says No Again to Suction Dredging Mining

Posted on March 21, 2021 by Cindy Charles

The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, along with 19 other conservation, fisheries and community organizations, submitted comments on March 5, 2021 to the California State Water Resources Control Board on a proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit for … Continue reading →

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CSPA & PCFFA Urge Reversal of Harmful & Unlawful Trump Actions on the Central Valley Project

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Cindy Charles

By Cindy Charles The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA) sent a joint letter on February 16, 2021 to the Biden Administration and Secretary of Interior designate Debra Haaland, urging them to … Continue reading →

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Here We Go Again – FERC Rapidly Issuing Waivers on Water Quality Certifications for California Dams

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Cindy Charles

By Cindy Charles The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) continues to roll out waivers for water quality certifications for dam relicensings in California at an alarming rate.  On June 22, CSPA and allies in the Foothills Water Network[1] (Network) filed … Continue reading →

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Help Us Tell Governor Newsom We’ve Waited Long Enough—The SF Bay-Delta is in Serious Peril

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Cindy Charles

  We need your help to ask Governor Newsom to urge the State Water Board to move forward on the update of the Bay-Delta Quality Control Plan. San Francisco Bay and Delta ecosystems are near collapse.  The Voluntary Agreements process … Continue reading →

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