Thursday, January 31, 2019

Bay Delta Facing Assault From New Rules

The Trump Administration is expected to propose its new plan to guide the operations of the federal Central Valley Project and the State Water Project under the Endangered Species Act. Delta advocates, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife have expressed concern that the new rules will weaken protections for Delta species and harm California’s fishing industry. Wildlife scientists have become increasingly concerned about the declining health of the Delta. In 2016, federal and state officials were on the verge of adopting biological opinions that would strengthen protections for fish species. California’s environmental agencies under Governor Gavin Newsom could resist the new proposal, or force the new biological rules to comply with the state’s endangered species protections, which are stronger that the federal laws. Vic Bedoian reports from Fresno.