Court Grants Federal Government Additional Year to Issue New Biological Opinions for California Water Projects
Posted in Court Decisions

On April 9, 2013, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California ruled (pdf) on a motion (pdf) by the United States and the State of California to extend the period of time to issue new biological opinions regarding the effects of continued operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project on a number of fish species listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.  The U.S. and California sought a three year extension of the time to issue biological opinions that were previously held to be unlawful.  The court granted a one year extension and left open the potential to seek two additional one year extensions but only in the event that the court is satisfied that the parties are making "substantial progress" toward developing relevant scientific information in a collaborative manner.

The court required the parties to submit a joint status report detailing their effort to implement the so-called Collaborative Science and Adaptive Management Process (or CSAMP) on or before February 15, 2014.  The court explained that at that time it will "entertain a request to extend the remand schedule by an additional year, with the understanding that if substantial progress has been made along the lines outlined by Movants, such an extension will be granted."  But the court went on to caution the parties that further extensions may not be granted: "The opposite is equally true. If substantial progress has not been made, further extensions will be nonexistent."

  • Paul S. Weiland
    Partner

    Paul Weiland is Assistant Managing Partner and a member of the Environment & Land Use Group. He has represented clients – including public agencies, publicly regulated utilities, corporations, trade associations and ...

Nossaman’s Endangered Species Law & Policy blog focuses on news, events, and policies affecting endangered species issues in California and throughout the United States. Topics include listing and critical habitat decisions, conservation and recovery planning, inter-agency consultation, and related developments in law, policy, and science. We also inform readers about regulatory and legislative developments, as well as key court decisions.

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