U.S. Water News Online
GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- The federal government's plan for balancing water between Klamath Basin farmers and threatened coho salmon violates the Endangered Species Act, but not enough to justify shutting off irrigation for farmers this year, a federal judge has ruled.
The steps ordered by the NOAA Fisheries to protect coho are invalid because they rely on states and private parties to take actions that may never come to pass, such as the development of new water sources to increase river flows, Judge Saundra B. Armstrong ruled.
The judge, ruling from Oakland, Calif., found that the biological opinion produced by the agency to protect the fish under a 10-year operations plan for the Klamath Reclamation Project was arbitrary and capricious.
Armstrong wrote that normally, she would have thrown out the document with such a ruling, but in the interest of fairness and because she found short-term plans for river flows valid, she would leave the biological opinion in force while it is changed by NOAA Fisheries.
Ravaged by drought in 2001, the Klamath Basin has been a national battleground between farmers, Indian tribes, fishermen and environmentalists over how to allocate scarce water resources between competing interests.
After irrigation was restored in 2002, 33,000 fall Chinook died. The California Department of Fish and Game blamed the kill in part on the Klamath Project.
That sparked a lawsuit from fishermen, Indian tribes, environmentalists and Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., against the federal government's management plan.
Spokesmen for the plaintiffs and farmers both proclaimed the ruling a victory, adding it sets the stage for meaningful progress in balancing water between fish and farms.
Dan Keppen of the Klamath Water Users Association said farmers' biggest fear, a court order reducing irrigation in the middle of summer this year, did not happen.
``The bottom line is this decision does not impact (irrigation) deliveries this year when we are trying to keep everything together just to keep everybody whole,'' Keppen said.
Kristen Boyles of Earthjustice, the environmental public interest law firm representing plaintiffs, said they were disappointed the judge did not immediately order more water for fish, but looked forward to development of a better plan.
``I am very wary of (another) fish kill,'' Boyles said. ``These flows I believe are scientifically insupportable.
A telephone conference was set for July 31 to settle issues such as a timetable for fixing the biological opinion.
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