Article from Chico Enterprise-Record.
http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_25944984/environmental-lawsuit-filed-stop-water-transfer-package
By Heather Hacking
POSTED: 06/11/2014 04:30:10 PM PDT
Chico’s AquAlliance and Cal Sportfishing Alliance are plaintiffs
SACRAMENTO >> A lawsuit was filed Wednesday in federal District Court for the Eastern District of California against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, stating a proposed package of San Luis and Delta Mendota Water Authority transfers require a full environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Sending water from Northern California to other parts of the state has to stop, at least long enough for an environmental review of the long-term impacts, said Barbara Vlamis of Chico’s AquAlliance.
Water transfers are approved one year at a time, but for years Vlamis and others have said environmental review needs to consider transfers over time.
“We have already experienced the devastation of overuse of groundwater in California’s watersheds. It comes from exploiting surface water as well as groundwater,” Vlamis said during an interview Wednesday.
She cited the Owens Valley and San Joqauin Valley as examples of what she hopes the Sacramento Valley never becomes.
Northern California watersheds are already under stress due to local water cutbacks and groundwater use, the suit states.
“Selling surface water and pumping groundwater places an extraordinary strain on the groundwater basins and streams of the North State that are already taxed by the very dry conditions, past transfers and agricultural demand,” said Vlamis.
The Bureau of Reclamation has done environmental assessments and found “no significant impact.” Yet, this conclusion ignores current information and “fails to meet the minimum requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),” the lawsuit contends.
The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance joined AquAlliance in the lawsuit.
Exporting water when outflow to the delta is very low will exposes Delta smelt to “lethal temperatures” and pulls them into delta pumps, where the fish die, said Bill Jennings, director of the Sportfishing Alliance.
Jennings also states in the lawsuit that water flowing to the delta is overestimated by state and federal agencies. New technology shows those estimates to be inaccurate, Jennings continues. A detailed explanation by Jennings can be found in this document: http://goo.gl/jptLyo.
The water transfers targeted in the lawsuit are not specific as to buyers and sellers. This is because the transfer package is “programmatic,” and individual water transfers will be submitted to the bureau soon, the lawsuit states. The plaintiffs said they believe transfers may begin in early July.
Vlamis said she believes there is a chance that this transfer package could be stopped by the court.
“This is a definite shot across the bow from our region, that has been treated like a resource colony for south-of-the-delta,” she said.
To read the court case: http://goo.gl/0aQNtH