Environmental Law & Policy Alerts
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July 27, 2018 Northern District of California Denies Motion to Shut Off Klamath Project, and Transfers ESA Case to Oregon In a two-part decision favorable to Klamath Project irrigators, Judge William Orrick of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, denied the Klamath Tribes’ motion for preliminary injunction seeking management of Upper Klamath Lake at levels that would result in an immediate shutdown of the Klamath Project. Among the rulings in the 29-page opinion, Judge Orrick noted that it is “an open question among competing expert opinions whether the relief requested will really improve the plight of the sucker fish,” and that the science presented with the motion did not support the granting of the extraordinary remedy sought by the Klamath Tribes. In addition to denying the motion for preliminary injunction, Judge Orrick transferred the case to the District of Oregon. A copy of the July 25, 2018 order is available here. … Read More Written by Richard S. Deitchman |