Amador County – Three regional groups with concerns about the future of the Mokelumne River have filed their opening brief in a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuit challenging the East Bay Municipal Utility District’s (EBMUD) 2040 water plan.
The Foothill Conservancy, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and Friends of the River originally filed suit in November 2009 following EBMUD’s adoption of the plan, which includes an option to expand the Pardee Reservoir and flood portions of the Mokelumne River in order to provide more water to customers in the East Bay.
In a release, the Foothill Conservancy said the brief, filed in November, “details five causes of action describing how EBMUD violated the state’s leading environmental law.” These include an alleged “failure to adequately evaluate the damage the dam would cause to the Mokelumne’s fish populations” and a failure to properly analyze water supplies in EBMUD’s “own backyard” in the East Bay. The Foothill Conservancy said there was also a “failure to analyze the impacts of eliminating a portion of the Mokelumne from eligibility and protection of its ‘outstandingly remarkable values’ as a National Wild and Scenic River.”
A number of organizations and government bodies have united in opposition to the mammoth power company’s proposal, including the Amador County Board of Supervisors, the Amador Water Agency, Sierra Club California and 3rd District Congressman Dan Lungren.
These bodies have cited concerns over potential damage to the river’s ecosystem, the destruction of historic sites like the Middle Bar Bridge and irreversible damage to a river considered important to Native Americans.
“We’re especially concerned about protecting the Mokelumne River from EBMUD’s proposed Pardee Dam expansion, which would destroy nearly two miles of beautiful, free-flowing river,” said Chris Wright, Foothill Conservancy executive director. “The river is important to local residents as a place to fish and teach our kids about nature, to the native Miwuk people for its sacred cultural sites, to the state’s people for its historic and public trust resources, and to visitors as one of the best places in the state to whitewater kayak.”
The Foothill Conservancy anticipates the case will be heard by Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley in February 2011.
“We believe we have a very strong case,” said Wright, “And we’re glad to see it heading toward objective legal analysis by a judge instead of a vote by an absentee East Bay board whose majority clearly doesn’t care what happens to the Mokelumne, our community, or downstream resources.”
Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
