Court Enters Temporary Stipulated Settlement in Water Project Case Following Successful Challenge to Delta Smelt Biological Opinion
On February 25, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California entered a stipulated order (pdf) establishing operational criteria for the Central Valley Project and State Water Project through June 30, 2011, in lieu of the Reasonable and Prudent Alternative prescribed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2008 biological opinion (pdf) regarding the effects of the Water Projects on delta smelt. The settlement that led to the order received widespread media attention, including this story by Reuters. The memorandum decision of the court holding that the biological opinion is unlawful and remanding it to the Service is available here (pdf).
