Appeals Court Rules In Favor Of Fish

Sacramento, CA — The U.S. 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a ruling that protects endangered fish, but impacts water deliveries to farmers in the Central Valley.

A panel has upheld environmental restrictions designed to protect fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, and effectively limits pumping. The decision reverses a previous lower court ruling that challenged the protections.

The initial litigation, filed by water districts in Southern California and the Central Valley, was aimed at the environmental restrictions approved in 2009 by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The panel believes that the best available science was used when putting together the restrictions. They were approved to protect the chinook salmon population, as well as steelhead and green sturgeon.