Press release from AquAlliance
AquAlliance, Central Delta Water Agency, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, and the California Water Impact Network filed a challenge to the final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Water Reduction Program Agreement Between the Sacramento River Settlement Contractors Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation, Individual Sacramento River Settlement Contractors, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Sacramento Superior Court on January 28, 2025.
The lawsuit alleges violations of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) with Glenn Colusa Irrigation District’s approval of the FEIR, such as:
- The FEIR failed to disclose the alarming subsidence trends in the Colusa Subbasin where much of the Project’s activities will occur.
- The Project description only provided a general description of the proposed drought resiliency projects, including the proposed conjunctive use program to artificially recharge surface and groundwater supplies, and never identified where each project will be implemented or what the scale of these projects will be.
- The FEIR failed to analyze the impacts of increased groundwater use on already overtaxed, declining groundwater. It never identified where 30 new groundwater wells will be constructed or where existing groundwater wells will be utilized.
- The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s extensive early Notice of Preparation comments were neglected by GCID, which ignored the impacts analysis on Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems, Interconnected Surface Water, and groundwater substitution pumping.
- The FEIR failed to disclose that throughout the last decade, state and federal agencies have attempted to negotiate and solidify, in secret and without public input, “Voluntary Agreements” with Sacramento River Settlement Contractors whereby the agencies pay Sacramento River Settlement Contractors to reduce their demand through the implementation of water- related projects like those being contemplated under this Project.
AquAlliance’s Executive Director, Barbara Vlamis, explained, “The multi-decades efforts by the California Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to squeeze ever more water from the streams and groundwater basins of the Sacramento Valley are repeating the destructive patterns in the Owens and San Joaquin valleys. If the agencies truly wanted to find any potential water that wouldn’t destroy the Sacramento River’s valley watersheds, they would have conducted real science over the last four decades. But no, science would have demonstrated that bleeding another watershed dry would destroy the last, somewhat healthy watershed to benefit desert agriculture in the south-state. To represent small farmers, communities, and the natural heritage here, we had to pursue our legal options.”
This Water Reduction Program is financed with public funds. The federal government will provide $250,000,000 and asks only that “The SRSC shall use at least 50.1% of the Inflation Reduction Act proceeds to invest in drought resiliency projects.” The State of California is allocating almost $55 million to the Program.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare that GCID’s FEIR failed to meet minimum requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act and that all approvals be set aside.
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Additional Contacts: Chris Shutes, CSPA: 510.421.2405
Pat Soluri, Soluri Meserve for CDWA: 916.455.7300
AquAlliance has been joined by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and the California Water Impact Network, and we are represented by the Aqua Terra Aeris law firm. Co-plaintiffs in the litigation also include Central Delta Water Agency and they are represented by the Soluri Meserve law firm.
Background
A) Lawsuit filed: https://aqualliance.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/25.01.28-Petition-
GCID.pdf.
B) Maps of subsidence created by AquAlliance from DWR data that is ignored in the GCID FEIR: https://aqualliance.net/ground-water-issues/subsidence/subsidence-in-colusa-glenn-tehama-sacramento-counties-2015-2024/
C) Historic maps illustrating the groundwater conditions in the Sacramento Valley. DWR stopped producing these maps after 2021. The public must now track the data through numerous Groundwater Sustainability Agencies. https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/northern-sacramento-valley-groundwater-elevation-change-maps
PRESS RELEASE: Transfers, groundwater overuse, voluntary agreements, and lots of $$$: Aqualliance and allies sue Glenn Colusa Irrigation District
Press release from AquAlliance
AquAlliance, Central Delta Water Agency, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, and the California Water Impact Network filed a challenge to the final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Water Reduction Program Agreement Between the Sacramento River Settlement Contractors Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation, Individual Sacramento River Settlement Contractors, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Sacramento Superior Court on January 28, 2025.
The lawsuit alleges violations of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) with Glenn Colusa Irrigation District’s approval of the FEIR, such as:
AquAlliance’s Executive Director, Barbara Vlamis, explained, “The multi-decades efforts by the California Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to squeeze ever more water from the streams and groundwater basins of the Sacramento Valley are repeating the destructive patterns in the Owens and San Joaquin valleys. If the agencies truly wanted to find any potential water that wouldn’t destroy the Sacramento River’s valley watersheds, they would have conducted real science over the last four decades. But no, science would have demonstrated that bleeding another watershed dry would destroy the last, somewhat healthy watershed to benefit desert agriculture in the south-state. To represent small farmers, communities, and the natural heritage here, we had to pursue our legal options.”
This Water Reduction Program is financed with public funds. The federal government will provide $250,000,000 and asks only that “The SRSC shall use at least 50.1% of the Inflation Reduction Act proceeds to invest in drought resiliency projects.” The State of California is allocating almost $55 million to the Program.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare that GCID’s FEIR failed to meet minimum requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act and that all approvals be set aside.
#
Additional Contacts: Chris Shutes, CSPA: 510.421.2405
Pat Soluri, Soluri Meserve for CDWA: 916.455.7300
AquAlliance has been joined by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and the California Water Impact Network, and we are represented by the Aqua Terra Aeris law firm. Co-plaintiffs in the litigation also include Central Delta Water Agency and they are represented by the Soluri Meserve law firm.
Background
A) Lawsuit filed: https://aqualliance.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/25.01.28-Petition-
GCID.pdf.
B) Maps of subsidence created by AquAlliance from DWR data that is ignored in the GCID FEIR: https://aqualliance.net/ground-water-issues/subsidence/subsidence-in-colusa-glenn-tehama-sacramento-counties-2015-2024/
C) Historic maps illustrating the groundwater conditions in the Sacramento Valley. DWR stopped producing these maps after 2021. The public must now track the data through numerous Groundwater Sustainability Agencies. https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/northern-sacramento-valley-groundwater-elevation-change-maps
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