Smells Fishy? Water Rates Could Go Up To Protect Endangered Fish

Twelve Inland Empire water agencies filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the Obama administration's decision to expand habitat for an endangered fish species, arguing that it could seriously impact water availability.

The government and an advocacy group disagreed, while it underscored the need for protective measures.

The suit, filed by the Riverside County Flood Control & Water Conservation District, Riverside Public Utilities and 10 other area agencies, seeks to stop the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service from enlarging protected space for the Santa Ana Sucker.

“The expanded critical habitat area for the Sucker is unnecessary and will assuredly lead to increased water costs for our customers,'' said Patrick Milligan, president of the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, one of the litigants.

“The decision was based on sloppy science and a flagrant disregard for the requirements of the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws,” Mulligan charged.

Under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service guidelines, more than 9,300 acres of creeks and rivers have been designated critical habitat for the sucker, which is listed as a threatened species on the Endangered Species Act list.

In 2005, Fish and Wildlife Service determined that existing sucker conservation efforts were adequate, and it was not necessary to expand the protected areas.

But in December, the agency revised its habitat to include parts of the Santa Ana River and Mill Creek, which local agencies have deemed crucial in providing water to Southern California residents, thus potentially reducing the water supply.

USFWS Pacific Region spokeswoman Jane Hendron declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said the agency's preference is to ``work cooperatively with interested parties, whether they be landowners or state and local agencies.”

According to the plaintiffs, a December ruling by federal officials would effectively shut off a large resource of water, depriving the region of one-third of its current fresh water stocks. The reduced supplies could impact one million residents in Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties, according to the lawsuit.

Court papers state that the Wildlife Service's decision to designate headwaters of the Santa Ana River as “critical habitat” for the Sucker will disrupt reclamation operations along the entire channel and result in wasteful releases from the Seven Oaks Dam, located in the San Bernardino Mountains.

The water agencies allege the USFWS violated provisions of the Endangered Species Act by refusing to consult with state and local parties and apply objective scientific criteria in figuring out how best to balance conservation plans against the economic and resource needs of affected communities.

Federal officials want higher volumes of water released from the dam to uncover substrate, which promotes algae growth and spawning grounds.

According to Hendron, the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity prompted the Wildlife Service to review its habitat preservation efforts on behalf of the Sucker.

The nonprofit center sued the USFWS in 2007, arguing that the agency had failed to extend critical habitat to encompass stretches of the Santa Ana River and its tributaries where the fish population was plummeting.

Ileene Anderson, a spokeswoman for the environmental advocacy group, condemned the water agencies' lawsuit, calling the new critical habitat “the bare minimum” to assure the Sucker's survival.

“This little fish, which is evolutionarily adapted to boom-and-bust cycles ... is a bellwether for the state of our local rivers,” Anderson said. “Challenging this critical habitat designation is a bad idea for both fish and people.”

According to a study by the Moreland, Idaho-based Western Legacy Alliance, which promotes private property rights, the CBD filed more than 400 species protection-related lawsuits between 2001 and 2009.

According to Hendron, the critical habitat designation will not hinder agencies from drawing water from the Santa Ana or other areas where the Sucker spawns, including Big Tujunga Creek and the San Gabriel River.

She said the designation provides an “additional layer of review” before developers or municipalities can proceed with making any changes along channels recognized as critical to a threatened species.

“Only on very rare occasions has the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service been unable to work with a project's proponents,” Hendron said.

Local water agencies argue that the amount of water to be restricted for the benefit of the fish could be used to replenish regional water stocks and help reduce the region's dependence on water imports from the San Joaquin Delta, which is already under a federal pumping limit to protect the endangered Delta Smelt.

City News Service contributed to this story.