Amador County – The Foothill Conservancy’s lawsuit to stop a plan to expand Pardee Reservoir and flood parts of the Mokelumne River is scheduled to be heard Friday.

The Foothill Conservancy is suing to stop a 20-year plan by East Bay Municipal Utility District that would expand Pardee Reservoir and flood three miles of banks along the Mokelumne River in Amador and Calaveras Counties. The suit seeks to overturn the Environmental Impact Report on which the East Bay MUD board of directors based its “2040 Water Supply Management Plan” in 2009.

Foothill Conservancy Executive Director Chris Wright in filing the 2009 lawsuit said the EIR included “one expansion option that would flood the entire Middle Bar reach of the Mokelumne River and up to a mile of the Electra Run above Highway 49.” He said the 2040 Plan “retained 4 alternatives for a new Pardee Dam, 3 of which would destroy the Middle Bar reach and historic 1912 Middle Bar Bridge.”

Wright said the Moke, which feeds Pardee, “is not the property of East Bay MUD, and they are not above the law.” He said the EIR fails under the California Environmental Quality Act by “failing to adequately analyze and mitigate the impacts on Amador and Calaveras counties from the new Pardee Dam.”

The suit alleges East Bay MUD “inadequately responded to concerns” and ignored testimony from public hearings in Sutter Creek, San Andreas and Oakland. The suit asks the court to set aside approval of the 2040 water plan.

Filed in Amador County Superior Court, the suit was moved to Sacramento Superior Court, where it will be heard Friday by Judge Timothy Frawley, who could make a preliminary ruling shortly thereafter, followed by a final ruling later this year.

The suit was filed jointly with “Friends of the River,” and “California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.” Sportfishing Alliance Executive Director Bill Jennings in a release with the suit called East Bay MUD “a municipal vampire” that has “spurned reasonable alternatives that would have assured its customers of a reliable water supply.”

John Tinkl of the Calaveras Community Action Project said a new Pardee Dam “would be a disaster for the region’s recreation, economy and scenic beauty,” and it “flies in the face of other options that could meet potential water needs but not harm” the region.

Wright said it “is only the second lawsuit Foothill Conservancy has filed in its 20-year history.” He said it “is such an important issue, and people care so much about this river,” they had to do it.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.