Excerpts from article:
...The state of California sued the White House late Thursday after ordered the state to reconfigure its water plan, funneling more water from the north to a thirsty agriculture industry and growing population further south.
...Critics fear the new plan, which would allow large quantities of water to be diverted from the San Francisco Bay Delta to the Central Valley in order to irrigate farmland, would ultimately harm chinook salmon and the delta smelt, a finger-sized fish that for three decades has stood in the way of the diversion.
...On Wednesday, Trump said the changes to the "Outdated scientific research and biological opinions" would now help direct "As much water as possible, which will be a magnificent amount, a massive amount of water for the use of California farmers and ranchers."
...Interior Secretary David Bernhardt defended the work that went into crafting the new opinions as science-based and warned California about the road ahead. "The governor and attorney general just launched a ship into a sea of unpredictable administrative and legal challenges regarding the most complex water operations in the country, something they have not chartered before," he said in a statement.
..."Litigation can lead to unpredictable twists and turns that can create significant challenges for the people of California who depend on the sound operation of these two important water projects."
Submitted 1523 days ago
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