The ongoing issue of the Federal Mandate to “draw down” New Melones to flush the Delta of its heavily salinated water has hit a glitch, according to Susan Larson, Tulloch Coordinator for the Tri-Dam project, the two irrigation districts that own Tri-Dam, namely the Oakdale Irrigation District and the South San Joaquin Irrigation District, have filed litigation aimed at preventing implementation of that plan. "Tri-Dam is concerned about the impact to Tulloch and downstream waters if the Federal Plan is implemented, and that is why the irrigation districts filed the litigation. In addition to the effect of the reservoirs, the districts' scientific evidence demonstrates that there would be no clear benefit to fisheries, ie, more water in the Stanislaus River does not mean more fish."A decision in that case is still forthcoming.
When asked if the Federal plan were to move forward when the anticipated draw down date would occur Susan responded, "I believe that there are other challenges to the Federal Plan as well and these would have to be considered prior to any lowering by the Bureau."
When asked if the Federal plan were to move forward when the anticipated draw down date would occur Susan responded, "I believe that there are other challenges to the Federal Plan as well and these would have to be considered prior to any lowering by the Bureau."
For more information and news articles on this subject visit http://savethestan.com/
Addition to story 8:38 AM 2-11-11
When asked whether Lake Tulloch would actually fall under the Federal Gov’t Mandate due to the fact that it had been built by USACE as storage, Susan responded, "Lake Tulloch was commissioned in 1957 as part of Tri Dam’s hydro development on the Stanislaus River to provide for additional storage and regulation for the district’s irrigation deliveries. The Oakdale and South San Joaquin Irrigation Districts jointly owned the original Melones Dam which is now integrated into the upstream toe of the New Melones Dam. New Melones was completed in 1978 by the USACE to complete flood control facilities as part of the Central Valley Project. They were independent developments but are now operated cooperatively."
When asked who supersedes whom with regards to USACE and USBR the response was ,"Flood management rules over any other operation. There is an operating ‘rule’ curve approved by the USACE that defines this."
No comments:
Post a Comment