Yuba Water Agency to sue state
Marysville Appeal Democrat - 9/30/03
By Harold Kruger, staff writer

It's back to court for the Yuba County Water Agency as it tries to overturn the Yuba River order.

Agency directors voted 6-0 Tuesday to sue the State Water Resources Control Board, which last week adopted, with minimal revisions, a new Yuba River decision.

"Well, these are just the same old issues we're going after again and again," said agency Chair Tib Belza. "We feel the decision by the state was wrong when they first made it, and it was wrong when they reconsidered it. And so we're going to try to right it."

The agency has until mid-August to file its lawsuit.

"We certainly hope the court appreciates the seriousness of the arguments that we are making and (the judge) will consider those and ultimately rule in our favor," said Alan Lilly, the agency's lawyer.

"We believe we do have some strong legal arguments and that the State Water Resources Control Board did not follow the proper legal requirements and did not properly evaluate the evidence."

The state board adopted its Yuba River order - Decision 1644 - in 2001 after years of hearings that produced a transcript that ran more than 30,000 pages.

The board said it wanted to see higher instream flows in the river to aid endangered and threatened fish in the Yuba.

The Water Agency said the higher flows weren't needed and would make less water available for farmers, for hydropower production and for sale by the agency, especially during dry and critically dry years.

The agency sued and earlier this year a judge ordered the state panel to take into consideration new evidence about the fishery and other matters.

After a two-day hearing, the board issued a revised decision that said most of the evidence and testimony was unpersuasive. It said D-1644 needed only minor changes.

The higher instream flows are still scheduled to start in 2006.

"We're going to do everything in this county's power to save its most valuable resource, next to our people, which is our water," Belza said.

"We're back at it, and as long as it takes we're going to try to work this out, but in the meantime we've got to protect our legal interests in the court."

Last week, members of the state board urged the Water Agency, environmentalists and federal and state agencies to work out a settlement.

Belza said those talks are going "very, very slow."

He said the Water Agency is the party with "something to lose. The other side doesn't have a lot to lose."