Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

listen live donate
listen live donate
listen live
donate
  • News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
    Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
  • Podcasts & Shows
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
    Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About
  • Close Menu
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
  • State Government
  • Environment
  •  

California To Sue Trump Administration Over Proposed Water Rules Affecting San Joaquin Delta

Thursday, November 21, 2019 | Sacramento, CA
Rich Pedroncelli / AP Photo

In this Feb. 23, 2016 file photo, people try to catch fish along the Sacramento River in the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, near Courtland, Calif.

Rich Pedroncelli / AP Photo

(AP) — California officials said Thursday they will sue the federal government over proposed rules managing the state’s scarce water, arguing its conclusions are not scientifically adequate and fall short of protecting species and the state’s interests.

The state, which has historically relied on the federal government to set rules, is proposing its own rules governing the State Water Project, which captures and stores water originating in the Sierra Nevada and delivers it to 27 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area and Central and Southern California.

“We value our partnerships with federal agencies on water management,” the state’s Secretary for Environmental Protection Jared Blumenfeld said. “At the same time, we also need to take legal action to protect the state’s interest and our environment.”

Environmental groups cheered the state’s decision but criticized the state’s proposed rules.

Doug Obegi at the Natural Resources Defense Council referring to them as “Trump lite.”

“It’s not as bad as what’s in in the Trump (proposed rules), but it’s certainly less protections than what’s in place today,” he said.

The wrangling highlights the perils of water politics in California as first-term Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom seeks to reconcile the interests of the state’s $50 billion agriculture industry with the growing list of endangered species in a fragile ecosystem.

Earlier this year, the Legislature approved a law that would have applied California’s Endangered Species Act to the federally-operated Central Valley Project. But Newsom angered environmentalists when he vetoed that law, calling it “a solution in search of a problem.”

Newsom said Thursday the state’s actions are beginning “to chart a new path forward for water policy in California.”

“As stewards of this state’s remarkable natural resources, we must do everything in our power to protect them,” he said.

Last month, the federal government proposed new rules that would govern the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. The rules would deliver more water to farmers, despite warnings from environmentalist that it would imperil endangered species like the delta smelt and the winter-run chinook Salmon.

A joint statement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said their final proposed rules “incorporated significant modifications based upon input from the State of California and our partners.”

“We firmly stand behind the science that was used and the conclusions that were made,” the agencies said in the joint statement.

The state Department of Water Resources says its proposed rules for the State Water Project include specific protections for the longfin smelt, which is protected under the state’s Endangered Species Act but not the federal equivalent.

Obegi said the state’s water rules ultimately would let water agencies take out an additional 219,000 acre feet of water each year, which he says would harm the longfin smelt and other endangered species. One acre-foot of water is more than 325,000 gallons (1.2 million liters), or the amount of water that would cover an acre to the depth of a foot (0.3 meters).

Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Lisa Lien-Mager said the new rules give the state Department of Fish and Wildlife authority to stop the increased pumping if it determines it would violate the Endangered Species Act.

She also said the plan would set aside 200,000 acre-feet of water to offset the additional pumping impacts in the Delta, which when combined with other factors “does not result in a net increase in exports.”


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters

More State Government Stories

Andrew Nixon / CapRadio

California announces plan to convert 3 office buildings in downtown Sacramento into housing

January 31, 2023

Aaron Kehoe/AP

Backed by Newsom, California Democrats revive changes to state concealed carry law

February 1, 2023

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File

Q&A: Speaker Anthony Rendon on a budget deficit, gun bills and handing over the gavel

January 31, 2023

Most Viewed

10 new California laws that go into effect in 2023

Backed by Newsom, California Democrats revive changes to state concealed carry law

Still testing positive after day 10? How to decide when to end your COVID isolation

Behind The I-80 Castle: A Drag-Racing, Beauty School Mogul’s Dream House

California coronavirus updates: Sacramento County COVID-19 transmission level is reduced to low by CDC

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Most Viewed

10 new California laws that go into effect in 2023

Backed by Newsom, California Democrats revive changes to state concealed carry law

Still testing positive after day 10? How to decide when to end your COVID isolation

Behind The I-80 Castle: A Drag-Racing, Beauty School Mogul’s Dream House

California coronavirus updates: Sacramento County COVID-19 transmission level is reduced to low by CDC

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    •  
      (916) 278-8900
    •  
      (877) 480-5900
    •  Contact / Feedback
    •  Submit a News Tip
  • About

    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Stations & Coverage Map
    • Careers & Internships
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile Apps
    • Smart Speakers
    • Podcasts & Shows
    • On-Air Schedules
    • Daily Playlist
    • Signal Status
  • Connect

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen Live

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2023, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.