By Alex Lane - The Amador Transmission Pipeline has come up against a roadblock in the form of a lawsuit put forth by citizen Ken Berry on September 29th. The lawsuit contests an environmental document evaluating three additional alternative methods for placing a small diameter pipeline in the Amador Canal. The lawsuit seeks a suspension of further activity by the Amador Water Agency and asks to maintain flows in the Amador Canal. “The Agency is disappointed in this action and its potential impact on all of our ratepayers,” said AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie. Abercrombie believes Agency Directors must weigh the financial impact of “legal costs for fighting another lawsuit that impacts all Amador Water System ratepayers for the benefit of relatively few citizens.” According to Abercrombie, a previous lawsuit inflated the project cost by $9 million, or 3 dollars a month for every Amador Water System customer for the next 30 years. But Berry vehemently denies any significant cost impact, saying “it should only impact one issue, the Jackson Creek.” Berry said that a significant drop in water flow in Jackson Creek- which currently flows perennially- is the result of water being diverted through the pipeline. “The entire point of the lawsuit is for the water agency to consider these impacts,” Berry said. Included in the lawsuit are a number of charts illustrating a significant annual drop in Jackson Creek water flows. Berry noted that the Department of Fish and Game agrees with him, but their objection letter was ignored because it was received after the AWA had closed its comment period. Abercrombie claims that Berry’s lawsuit is “filed…with data from (Amador Water Agency Candidate) Bill Condrashoff, but Berry says that is “absolutely untrue,” and that the data came from Abercrombie and the Agency itself. At their next meeting on October 9, the Agency Board of Directors will discuss the pending lawsuit and determine their response.