Federal Judge Lifts Salmon Restrictions

U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger on Tuesday temporarily lifted Delta pumping restrictions aimed at protecting salmon and other species. Wanger ordered the pumping limits lifted until June 15, granting a request by agricultural and urban water users who said the additional pumping would not harm fish.

The move could allow as much as 200,000 acre-feet of additional water to be pumped in the next three weeks. Prior to the ruling, two sets of pumping restrictions to protect salmon were in place. One was set to end May 31, while the other was set to end on June 15, when juvenile salmon are assumed to have migrated past the influence of the pumps.

Separate measures to protect Delta smelt, however, remain in place. Wanger is expected to rule any day on a similar suit over smelt restrictions.

Tuesday’s ruling came a week after Wanger found insufficient scientific justification for the pumping limits imposed by federal agencies to protect salmon. The judge also found that federal agencies failed to consider alternative actions to protect the species that would have less harmful to humans and the human environment.