US District Court Fresno

[BillB]

Haven't seen anyone mention this yet, but yesterday US District Court judge Oliver Wanger ruled that much of the science in the Fish and Wildlife's management plan was flawed. US Fish and Wildlife has been enjoined to show why "less" drastic measures than turning off pumps would adequate to preserve the Smelt.

Heck, seems pretty drastic to me that the pumps can reverse the delta tides when turned on.

[Darian]

The SacBee and SF Chronicle both reported that Wenger agreed that the science included in the BiOp re-written USF&W Service was flawed. However, he did not rule on how to proceed from this point. That is supposed to be determined in a meeting of parties next week. I didn't see anything in the articles that reflected a change in the current pumping regimen to protect the "threatened" Delta Smelt.

At this point, Judge Wengers final decision could go either way; depending on how well each side presents their case on how to proceed. To this point, It sounds like Wenger has not decided in favor of one side or the other. Stay tuned. :nod: