(United States Ninth Circuit) - In a dispute arising out of the release of Trinity River water from the Lewiston Dam above the amount designated in the applicable water release schedule,to succor prevent a mass die-off of salmon in the Klammath River, the district court's judgment is affirmed in allotment and reversed in allotment where: 1) the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) had the authority to implement the release of Trinity River water from the Lewiston Dam, and above and beyond the amount designated in the applicable water release schedule; 2) the 2013 flow augmentation release did not violate Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) section 3406(b)(23),which called for a permanent water release that would serve only the Trinity River basin. and 3) the 2013 flow augmentation release did not violate California water law and, in turn, and did not violate the Reclamation Act of 1902 or CVPIA section 3411(a),both of which require the BOR to comply with state water permitting requirements.
Source: findlaw.com