California Water Policy, and Fish

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

If at first you don't succeed (in complying with endangered species laws) try, try again

By Traci Sheehan
Executive Director
Planning and Conservation League

Following last week's unprecedented cancellation of the salmon season and a federal court determination that operations of the two largest water projects in the state failed to comply with the Endangered Species Act, water operators have announced a series of workshops to prepare for their next attempt at complying with endangered species laws - the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP).

Beginning on Monday, the California Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will hold ten scoping meetings to begin their environmental review of the BDCP. The agencies are seeking a fifty-year permit which would grant regulatory "assurances" for Delta pumping that may limit future actions to protect threatened fish such as salmon and Delta Smelt for the duration of the permit, even if those populations continue to decline.

If ultimately approved, the BDCP will take the place of court-ordered operations of the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project. The court-ordered operating rules are the result of a 2007 judicial decision which found that water project operations jeopardized the continued existence of Delta Smelt, in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act. The same court is expected to issue additional operating rules, which may further limit Delta water exports, following last Wednesday's decision to reject the Biological Opinion covering at-risk species of salmon and steelhead trout.

Legislature Advances Exciting Bills to Secure California's Water Future

While state and federal agencies are hoping the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan will solve the problems of the Delta, the state Legislature is acting to ensure that California can meet the water needs of our economy, environment, and growing population while decreasing the strain on the Delta's fragile environment.