LAWSUITS FILED OR PENDING

May 2009

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Three Lawsuits Filed in Federal District Court Challenging December 2008 Delta Smelt Biological Opinion

On December 15, 2008, a new biological opinion related to the impacts of operations of the State Water Project (SWP) and the Central Valley Project (CVP) on Delta smelt was issued that replaces the water export restrictions set forth in Natural Resources Defense Council v. Kempthorne, Case No. 1:05 CV-1207 OWW GSA (E.D. Cal. 2007) (Kempthorne). In the short time since its issuance, this new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biological opinion has been challenged in three separate complaints, which call out the potentially severe water restrictions that may arise as a result of implementation of the biological opinion over the next 20 years.