Westlands Sues Feds Over Salmon Biological Opinion

Westlands Sues Feds Over Salmon Biological Opinion

by Dan Bacher

Westlands Water District, the Darth Vader of California water politics, and 29 other water agencies Monday announced a lawsuit against the federal government's court-ordered plan to prevent the extinction of Sacramento River spring run and winter run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, southern green sturgeon and the southern resident population of killer whales (orcas). The whales depend upon Central Valley salmon as a food source.

“It is simply outrageous that federal authorities would seek to force these restrictions on California without conducting a single public hearing, without any public review or comment, and without any consideration of the harm they are doing,” claimed Tom Birmingham, general manager of the Westlands Water District. "Environmental laws apply equally to all."

Westlands and the other public water agencies argue that the National Marine Fisheries Service should have prepared an environmental impact statement before adopting a salmon recovery plan that they claim "will divert hundreds of thousands of acre feet of California’s freshwater supplies into the ocean."

Birmingham tried to conjure up a nightmare scenario resulting from the implementation of the federal plan, claiming that the biological opinion would put "tens of thousands" of people out of work.

“Denying this much water to California is going to do obvious, serious and enduring damage to habitat, to wetlands, and to other endangered species," said Birmingham. "It will reduce water quality and drive up the costs of water treatment for millions of people. It will reduce the opportunities for recycling, conjunctive use, and water transfers, which are all vitally important to the state’s efforts to conserve water and improve efficiency. And it will put tens of thousands of people out of work, which affects public health and safety in myriad ways."

Judge Oliver Wanger of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, a judge known for decades for his sympathy with corporate agribusiness, recently granted a preliminary injunction in connection with a similar lawsuit that Westlands claimed pointed to the "failure" of another federal agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to prepare an environmental assessment before imposing a set of restrictions on behalf of the Delta smelt that "cut California’s water supply by nearly one third." Hearings on the merits of those challenges will be conducted later this year.

“The Obama Administration’s salmon plan mimics the smelt proposal and it suffers from the same defects,” Birmingham noted. In both the smelt and salmon proceedings, Westlands filed its lawsuit jointly with the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority.

"The smelt cutbacks have cost California more than 660,000 acre feet of water last year and they have reduced water supplies by another 480,000 acre feet so far this year," Birmingham added. "The federal plan for salmon would continue all of those reductions and could take as much as another 500,000 acre feet of water out of the water system, according to the California Department of Water Resources."

However, the nightmare scenario portrayed by Birmingham and other water contractors is simply untrue when the actual facts and data are reviewed. Changing water operations under the salmon biological opinion will impact only an estimated five to seven percent of the available annual water on average moved by the federal and state pumps, or about 330,000 acre feet per year, according to Maria Rea, the NMFS Area Supervisor.

Birmingham also failed to noted the devastating impact that water exports have had upon thousands of people employed in the recreational and commercial fishing industries who depend upon a healthy California Delta for their livelihoods. Massive increases of water exports to San Joaquin Valley agribusiness in recent years have resulted in the collapse of Central Valley chinook salmon, delta smelt, longfin smelt, threadfin shad, striped bass and other Delta fish populations.

All recreational and commercial salmon fishing in ocean waters off California and most of Oregon was closed last year, for the first time in 150 years, due to the unprecedented collapse of Sacramento River fall run Chinook salmon. Salmon fishing off California was closed again by the state and federal governments this year, with the exception of a 10 day recreational season in late August and early September on the North Coast.

Contrary to Westlands' claims of imminent doom, Westlands expects to use 86% of its average water supply this year, according to Department of Water Resources (DWR) data (http://yubanet.com/california/Op-Ed-Dan-Bacher-The-Big-Lie-Unravels.php).

"Central Valley Project deliveries to Westlands Water District, for example, were forecast to be zero as recently as March," said Spreck Rosecrans of Environmental Defense. "Westlands now projects they expect to use 86% of average annual supplies this year. Their total supply is a combination of deliveries from the Delta, water banked last year, groundwater pumping and purchases."

Westlands and corporate agribusiness are doing everything they can to prevent the recovery of imperiled Central Valley salmon and steelhead, green sturgeon and orcas, as required under the Endangered Species Act and numerous other federal and state laws, by falsely portraying themselves as victims of a "fish versus jobs" preference by the federal government.

On the same day that Westlands announced its lawsuit, KFSN in Fresno reported that a convoy of protesting West Valley growers on interstate five this morning caused a serious crash that put a driver of an 18-wheeler in the hospital with major injuries.

"It happened at Interstate 5 and El Dorado near HWY 198 in Fresno County," reported KFSN. "CHP said the driver slammed into the back of another 18-wheeler which had slowed down for the protest. The driver had to be flown to a Fresno hospital with major injuries. Growers on Fresno County's West side wanted to call attention to their ongoing lack of water. But officers said their slow pace on a major interstate was a dangerous move."

TV Channel 47 Fresno features on-line footage of the growers' protest convoy and the accidents they caused. According to this report, growers didn't let CHP know about the highway protest (http://www.cbs47.tv/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=102366 [at] kgpe.dayport.com).

Not only is corporate agribusiness responsible for putting thousands of workers in the recreational fishing and commercial fishing industries out of work, due to the collapse of Central Valley salmon and other fish species spurred by massive increases of water exports from the California, but they are now endangering people's lives on the freeways!

Meawwhile, California Latino Water Coalition, a front for San Joaquin Valley agribusiness interests led by comedian and agribusinessman Paul Rodriguez, is planning a July 1 march/rally at Fresno City Hall and the new federal building, which is in the next block, observed Lloyd Carter, longtime environmental justice advocate.

"Callers to KMJ radio's Ray Appleton (a mini-Rush Limbaugh who is a big supporter of Westlands) show are threatening to send trucks to Sacramento to block all the major interstates and highways through the city," said Carter.

The lawsuits and protests by agribusiness occur as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senator Dianne Feinstein, the state water contractors and agribusiness stooges in the State Legislature are campaigning for a peripheral canal and more dams that would only further imperil Central Valley salmon, steelhead, green sturgeon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt and other fish populations.

"This lawsuit is yet another effort by welfare farmers to justify subsidizing agribusiness at the expense of our public trust fisheries, the Delta and fishermen," said Bill Jennings, chairman of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA).

To read Westlands press release, go to: http://newsblaze.com/story/2009061516030000001.bw/topstory.html.