By Matt Weiser, Bee Staff Writer
Saturday, October 8, 2005
In what amounts to a huge victory for Delta water interests, an appellate court Friday told a leading state water authority that it must study the effects of sending less water to Southern California.
The ruling effectively calls into question the legal foundation for the state's most important water treaty organization - the CalFed Bay-Delta Program
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"This is a big, blunt crowbar stuck in the spokes of the CalFed wheel," said Bill Jennings, chairman of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, who has followed the case closely.
CalFed, a consortium of state and federal water interests, was founded on the premise that it is possible to increase water supplies while also improving the environment in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The maze of waterways is the heart of the state's water network and supplies drinking water for 22 million people.
The Delta serves as a conduit for moving water from the moist north state to the thirsty south. For decades, it has been at the core of California water wars.
CalFed was an attempt to create a new framework to resolve those disputes. It depends on a complex charter adopted in August 2000 to guide billions of dollars in spending. This, in turn, was based on an environmental impact report that evaluated the effect on the Delta of its actions to distribute water and improve the environment.
But water users within the Delta, including irrigation districts and farming groups, promptly filed a lawsuit claiming the CalFed program would harm their water quality by continuing to support water exports to Southern California.
Those exports, which depend on powerful pumps and a network of canals that begin near Tracy, have been blamed for killing fish and increasing salinity in the Delta.
On Friday, California's 3rd District Court of Appeal overturned a lower court ruling, finding instead that the CalFed charter failed to consider a future in which those exports would be reduced.
The court effectively ordered the environmental study underlying the CalFed charter to be revised. As a result, plaintiffs said, the CalFed charter itself might have to change.
Although the ruling is likely to be appealed, plaintiffs were jubilant.
"We view it as a very significant victory," said Dante Nomellini, a Stockton attorney who represented plaintiffs including the Central Delta Water Agency.
"On the principal issue of most importance to us and to the state, the court identified the flaw: Failure to consider alternatives that would reduce exports from the Delta."
Jennings, of the sports fishing alliance, was more blunt: "I think this will have far-reaching implications for the hydraulic system of California This is ultimately going to control the pumps."
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That remains to be seen. The decision came late on Friday and its full implications aren't yet known.
The defendants include CalFed, the state Department of Water Resources, and powerful water exporters such as the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Westlands Water District.
Many of those defendants could not be reached for comment Friday.
The court did support the defendants on a number of key points, including upholding much of the CalFed environmental document itself and its handling of public comments.
"You win some, you lose some," said Keith Coolidge, spokesman for CalFed. "Those are the court's words. They affirmed our position on a number of different areas.
"I don't yet know what we're going to do. However, there is a likelihood this will be appealed," he said.
The ruling comes at a difficult time for CalFed. Lately the agency has been accused of being too cozy with water interests. It is in the midst of a comprehensive organizational review ordered by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
That review already has reached some stinging conclusions, finding, for instance, that there is a lack of accountability within the organization and no clear lines of authority. Its executive director and science chief both announced their resignations last year.
On top of it all, populations of two key fish species - the striped bass and threatened Delta smelt - are crashing in the Delta. Though there is no clear evidence of a cause, many observers blame water exports, which have set records in recent years.
Coolidge said the timing of the court ruling "represents an opportunity for us. We're in the midst of re-evaluating virtually all areas of the CalFed program. All things represent opportunity."
WATER ISSUES
* The CalFed Bay-Delta Program is a consortium of state and federal water interests. Its maze of waterways is the heart of the state's water network and supplies drinking water for 22 million people.
* A new state appeals court ruling effectively means the CalFed charter may have to change.
* The ruling is likely to be appealed.
About the writer: The Bee's Matt Weiser can be reached at (916) 321-1264 or mweiser@sacbee.com.
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