SACRAMENTO, California — Both water agencies and fishing groups are suing California over its new operating plan for its massive water delivery system of pumps, reservoirs and canals, alleging the state failed to conduct a thorough environmental review.
The lawsuits, filed last week in Sacramento County Superior Court, come as the Biden and Newsom administrations race to cement their version of the rules for the pumps before President-elect Donald Trump comes into office and overturns them.
The federal and state governments typically operate their pumps in tandem, but Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom finalized a separate permit for the State Water Project last month, citing fears that federal officials could weaken endangered species rules.
Agencies that get water from the federal side of the system, the Central Valley Project, banded together in their lawsuit under the California Environmental Quality Act claiming the state did not fully analyze the effects of the split on federal water users and did not fully explain enough how it would coordinate with the federal government.
