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CSPA Advisory - 12.7.07aCourt
Orders Delta Export Reductions!
Below
you will find a summary of the recent court ruling that mandated
a reduction in Delta exports at certain times of the year to
better protect Delta smelt from the impacts of the state and
federal water projects. The court’s ruling was based on the
best science available, a principle the Interior Department
neglected to use. You
will also find a statement by Congressman George Miller
regarding this decision. Miller’s legislation, the Central
Valley Project Improvement Act, when passed in 1994 endeavored
to prevent fishery populations from ever declining to point
where extinction was imminent. By suppling water and money to
fix serious problems, it aimed at helping to restore the estuary
and doubling anadromous fish populations. While some positive
action were taken, a good deal of the water dedicated to the
fish and the estuary found administrative escape routes to the
agricultural contractors following the G.W. Bush
administration’s take over of the Interior Department. Under
the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) once a species is
listed, either the National Marine Fishery Service or the US
Fish & Wildlife Service prepares a “biological opinion”
that describes the biological status of the specie and the
actions necessary to protect it from extinction, based on the
best scientific knowledge. But remember there are the other
folks who know this requirement, but who look for ways to
minimize such protections so natural resource development and
business activities can continue as usual. They think they are
helping the country and campaign contributors, but their actions
only make the forces that result in extinction worse.
Unfortunately, the Delta smelt have become a clear example of
what’s wrong with politics trumping science. In
the case of the Delta smelt and a number of other species listed
by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, high level Department of
Interior decision makers found ways to minimize protections
illegally. It seems abundantly clear that the apple didn’t
fall very far from the tree. Most of these folks are, or were,
appointed Bush administration. John
Beuttler, Conservation Director COURT
ORDERS PROTECTION OF DELTA SMELT
Based
on his rulings of May and August of this year, U. S. District
Court judge Wanger issued a final ruling on December 14th that
Delta water export must be substantially reduced to protect the
Delta smelt from potential extinction in accordance with its
status as an endangered species. (The
judge's entire order in Case 1:05-cv-01207-OWW-GSA is available
at http://www.earthjustice.org/library/legal_docs/delta-smelt-final-remedy-order.pdf) Wanger
ruled in May that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service made a
faulty estimate of the risk to Delta smelt from the impacts of
the state and federal water projects plan to exporting some 7
million acre feet of water out of the Delta (Some 85% of that
water goes to agricultural contractors). That biological opinion
was made under intense pressure from the federal Department of
Interior to permit increases in water export from the Delta. The
Wanger court has ruled the biological opinion was illegal and it
must be rewritten to properly protect the smelt. Most
people aren’t going to understand why such a fuss is being
made over this small 3 inch fish. But many of us were around
when the Delta smelt was among the most abundant forage fish in
the Delta, a food source that helped drive foodweb interactions
necessary for ecosystem productivity. It fueled a bountiful web
of life for the entire estuary. Since
the Delta smelt are an indicator of the health of the entire Bay
- Delta ecosystem, they are representative of a much larger
decline in Delta fisheries. Species such as striped bass,
longfin smelt, threadfin shad, American shad and sturgeon have
also suffered extensive declines that threaten their viability
as species. It is hoped that the court decision will not be too
late to help save the Delta’s fisheries. We know there will be
benefits to leaving more fresh water in the estuary to help
restore its ecosystem, but we don’t know the extent of those
benefits. "We
hope this order will help stem the crash of the Delta's
fisheries and its ecosystem," said Kate Poole, an attorney
with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Continuing to
destroy the Delta's ecosystem is not just bad for fish; it's bad
for people." The
recent decline of the delta smelt and other species coincides
with To
better protect the Delta smelt from the impacts of water export,
the water project’s must reduce export levels back to those of
the year 2000 and halt all plans to increase exports. We commend
Earthjustice and NRDC for prevailing in this landmark litigation
for a host of environmental and fishery groups! Let’s
not forget that the Biological Opinion for those runs of Central
Valley salmon listed under the ESA are still in court waiting
for a decision that may well further roll back exports. The
evidence we are aware of clearly points to politics trumping
biological science in this biological opinion as well. #
# # Rep.
Miller Statement on the Delta Smelt Ruling
WASHINGTON,
DC - Congressman George Miller (D-Martinez), the former chairman
of the House Natural Resources Committee and author of several
key water reform laws, issued the following statement upon the
release of the December 14th order by U.S. District Court Judge
Oliver Wanger: Scientific
Survey Finds Delta Smelt
&
Other Fish Continue Spiral Downward
The
delta smelt and other Delta fish populations continue to plummet
towards extinction, according to data from the latest fall
midwater trawl survey conducted by the California Department of
Fish and Game. Although
toxics and invasive species play a role in the pelagic organism
decline of delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass and
threadfin shad, government biologists and fishery conservation
groups generally agree that increases in water exports are the
main factor in the aquatic foodweb collapse. “The
majority of these water exports consist of subsidized irrigation
water that goes to agribusiness for subsidized crops that
require subsidies to control and dispose of their drainage
water,” said Bill Jennings, CSPA’s executive director. We
also note that when it comes time to spend money to restore
fisheries damaged by water development, the public often
subsidizes those expenditures to the tune of billions of dollars
in California. How many subsidizes do agricultural business
really need? If the governor has his way with his proposed bond
measure, then the dams he wants to build we be paid for by tax
payers many of whom will probably think it’s the price they
must pay for their drinking water supplies! The
DFG has conducted this trawl net survey of Delta fish
populations every fall for the past 40 years. This November the
Delta smelt measurement was the second lowest on record. The
longfin smelt also continued their huge dive as did Sacramento
splittail, threadfin shad, American shad, and striped bass. Jennings
is exasperated that state and federal government agencies
entrusted with the powers to take care of the public’s fish,
wildlife and their habitat are not performing their duty to
protect these valuable natural resources. “The
bottom line is that we are now witnessing a crash of our fishery
resources and the state and federal government agencies are
unable to exercise their ability to protect public trust
resources,” said Jennings. # ESWR Update (5/1/07)
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