2015:
Lawsuit Against 10-Year Water Transfers Program
May 1: The Approved 10-Year Water Transfers Final EIS/EIR revealed massive gaps in basic facts and evaluation and AquAlliance exposed this in a 73-page comment letter with 36 technical appendices submitted with California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) & Aqua Terra Aeris Law Group. View comments of other groups and agencies on the approved EIS/EIR.
May 11: AquAlliance filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and San Luis Delta Mendota Water Authority (SLDMWA) over their approved EIS/EIR’s inadequate disclosure, avoidance of impacts, and mitigation of major water transfers from the Sacramento Valley through the Delta to the San Joaquin Valley. The lawsuit asks the court to declare that the Agencies’ Environmental Impact Statement/Report was arbitrary and capricious, ignored relevant new information and failed to meet minimum requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
June 26: AquAlliance complaint amended to include …
———————
2nd Lawsuit Filed: Chronic Violations of Water Quality & Management in the Sacramento River & Delta
June 3: AquAlliance joined a lawsuit that could alter the water transfers that are planned from the Sacramento Valley to desert agriculture this year. Click here to read more.
July 14: Water Transfer Injunction Denied. Judge Lawrence O’Neill of the federal district court in Fresno denied the preliminary injunction sought by AquAlliance and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance to stop the federal 2014 water transfers from the Sacramento Valley. Click here to read more.
August 1: Lawsuit Produces Desired Outcome. While we lost the injunction that sought to halt the transfers, AquAlliance and our litigation partner, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), achieved the major goal of the lawsuit: the ‘temporary’ water transfers will be folded into a larger plan that must disclose more fully how the communities, economy, and the environment in the NorthState and Delta may be harmed. Click here to read more.
———————
2014:
Lawsuit Filed to Protect North State Farms, Fish & Communities
June 10: AquAlliance and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) filed a lawsuit in federal District Court against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) over its inadequate disclosure, avoidance of impacts, and mitigation of major water transfers from the Sacramento Valley through the Delta to the San Joaquin Valley. Click here to read more.
———————
2013:
Coalition Lawsuit to Halt Delta Plan, Tunnels
June 2013: AquAlliance Joins Statewide Coalition of Fishing, Environmental, Farming Advocates in Lawsuit to Halt Delta Plan, Water Export Tunnels. “Arbitrary, Destructive” State Action Violates Delta Reform Act and CEQA
- Click here to download Press Release
- View coalition lawsuit complaint document – filed June 15, 2013
- View press coverage
———————
2012:
Water Transfer Challenged in Court
May 8: AquAlliance filed a lawsuit against Butte Water District (BWD) to challenge the obfuscation of impacts, both short and long term, from water transfers out of the northern Sacramento Valley to Kern County water districts. The lawsuit seeks compliance with environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Click here to read more.
———————
2010-11:
Feds sued over north-south water transfer plan
January 19, 2010: AquAlliance, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), and the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) submitted comments and questions for the Draft Environmental Assessment and Findings of No Significant Impact for the 2010-2011 Water Transfer Program. We also provided comments about the purpose and need for the 2010-2011 state and federal water transfer programs that are mirror images of the 2009 Drought Water Bank. Click here to read more.
July 1, 2010: AquAlliance, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) and California WAter Impact Network (C-WIN) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation calling for environmental review of plans for a 2010-11 north-to-south water transfer. Click here to read more.
August 2011: Plaintiffs Prevail in Challenge to Federal Water Transfers. AquAlliance, CSPA and C-WIN prevailed because no water was transferred over the two-year project period and the comprehensive environmental review that was sought is being developed. Click here to read concluding press release.