Thursday, October 15, 2020

Grasslands Water District Intervenes in Clean Water Act Lawsuit

Wetland Advocates Go To Court

Grassland Water District Intervenes in Clean Water Act Lawsuit

Los Banos, CA: Today, Grassland Water District, a water agency serving one of the largest wetlands in the West, received permission from the federal Eastern District Court of California to defend its interests in the case of Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations v. Glaser. Wetland managers rarely get involved in litigation, but in this case, the stakes are too high. The plaintiffs, commercial fishing and river advocacy groups, lost their argument that farmland drainage is subject to the strictest permitting requirements of the Clean Water Act. In an attempt to keep the case alive, they now claim that groundwater seepage from wetlands requires a strict permit.

The District’s General Manager, Ricardo Ortega, explained the decision to intervene: “The Clean Water Act was intended to protect wetlands, not attack them. Unfortunately, the Grassland wetlands are caught up in this case, which could have wide-ranging implications for all wetlands. With less than 5% of freshwater wetlands remaining in California, we take all threats seriously. We reached out to the plaintiff organizations but they were unwilling to discuss the collateral damage that this lawsuit could create for wetlands everywhere. We saw no choice but to defend these issues in court.”

The lawsuit involves the Grassland Bypass Project, which routes agricultural stormwater runoff around the wetland complex to protect water quality. The project was designed to avoid the type of damage that caused an ecological disaster at Kesterson Reservoir in the 1980s. High groundwater in the low- lying San Joaquin River basin naturally seeps into canals, sloughs, creeks and rivers. Increasing regulatory costs continue to pose a threat to wetland managers, and a new “NPDES” permit requirement under the Clean Water Act could mean serious financial hardship for wetland owners. Located at a critical point on the Pacific Flyway, the wetland habitat served by the District is a recognized Wetland of International Importance under the RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands, and designated as a Wetland of Global Significance and a critical component of the Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network.

About Grassland Water District: Grassland Water District is a public agency dedicated to the protection and delivery of water to private, state, and federal wildlife refuges in the Grassland Ecological Area. Over its sixty-seven year history the District has successfully secured and managed a long-term water supply to preserve and enhance one of the nation’s most valuable wildlife resource areas. Landowners in the Grasslands, working with the District and other organizations, have been responsible for the preservation of the largest remaining freshwater marsh in the western United States.