On February 19, 2020, President Trump signed new federal regulations allowing more water from Northern California to flow into the Central Valley. President Trump additionally signed a new biological opinion that found minimal environmental impacts resulting from the water transfer. However, California environmentalists and politicians view the water transfer as weakening environmental protections for populations of salmon and delta smelt in California’s Bay-Delta Watershed.

While farmers in the Central Valley need the water to sustain food production, environmentalists argue that the water transfer would harm salmon breeding grounds. Siding with the environmentalists, California has now filed a lawsuit claiming that more water flowing to the Central Valley violates environmental laws.

• Next
• Previous