Opinion ID: 776160
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the current controversy

Text: 18 For at least 4,000 years, the Lahontan Valley wetlands 4 have supported a wide diversity of wildlife. The wetlands provide expansive areas of uniformly shallow wetland habitats with waters of varying salinity. WEIS at 3-58. The wetlands shrink and swell continuously, according to season and over geologic time. Within the span of one season, these wetlands can transform from shallow lakes with clear, fresh water, to shallow, brackish marshes with high salt concentrations. Id. 19 Historically, runoff from the Sierra Nevada, via the Carson River, has provided the main inflow of fresh water to the wetlands. Between 40 and 60 percent of the annual flow has come from runoff from April through July, thereby flushing the wetlands of accumulated salts and other dissolved solids. As inflow of water from the Carson River tapered off in summer and as evaporation increased, the wetlands would shrink. Shallower, more saline marsh habitats remained. Id. at 3-59. 20 These fluctuations in inflow created a variety of habitats and attracted diverse animal species, including ducks, geese, pelicans, wading birds, and shorebirds. Id. at 3-59 to 3-60; S. Rep. No. 101-555, at 16. Over 410,000 ducks, 28,000 geese and 14,000 swans have been observed using the area annually during wet year spring and fall migrations. S. Rep. No. 101-555, at 16. In addition, Anaho Island National Wildlife Refuge, located in Pyramid Lake, supports the largest nesting colony of American white pelicans in North America . . . . The number of young pelicans produced at Anaho Island dropped from 6,000 in 1987 to 300 in 1989. Id. at 17. 21 As water upstream from the wetlands was diverted for agricultural purposes, the Stillwater marshes, Carson Lake, and Carson sink largely dried up. Episodic flooding, which had once sent voluminous springtime flows into the marshes was contained by Lahontan Dam and stored in Lahontan Reservoir for irrigation use. WEIS at 3-60. By 1987, less than 15 percent of the wetlands remained, just 15,000 acres. S. Rep. No. 101-555, at 16. Although the situation has improved somewhat, the Newlands Project is widely acknowledged to have contributed substantially to the loss of wetland acreage by eliminating areas entirely or by intercepting clean water supplies and substitut[ing] agricultural drainage. Id. Waterfowl still use the remaining wetlands. As the water evaporates, however, naturally occurring trace elements such as arsenic, boron, lithium, molybdenum, mercury and selenium are becoming concentrated, some reaching toxic levels.  Id. No one disputes the fact that the survival of the Lahontan Valley wetlands depends upon significantly increased firm supplies of clean water. In fact, even before passage of the Settlement Act, funds had been appropriated for acquisition of water rights for this purpose. WEIS, at 1-33 to 1-34 (The Service's Proposed Action and action alternatives would be a continuation of a water rights acquisition program for the Lahontan Valley wetlands which was first initiated by the Service in 1989 under previous appropriations and existing authorities (not Public Law 101-618).).
22 The circumstances behind . . . title [II] are unusually complex, involving interstate water apportionment, management of Federal water storage and diversion facilities, protection and restoration of wetlands and endangered and threatened fish species, and the settlement of Indian tribal claims to water and other interests. S. Rep. No. 101-555, at 8. In short, Congress recognized that everyone wants and needs the water: 23 The Truckee is the principal source of water for irrigation, municipal, industrial and domestic uses in the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area and provides water to the Newlands Reclamation Project, near Fallon, Nevada. The Carson River provides water for irrigation and some municipal use in California, and is extensively used for irrigation in Nevada. The Carson is the principal source of water for the Newlands Reclamation Project. 24 Id. at 9. 25 United States Senator Harry Reid of Nevada is credited with urging use of a problemshed approach regarding the Truckee and Carson basins, addressing many issues simultaneously, and getting all the key parties that could veto a settlement involved in the negotiating process. Douglas S. Kenney and William B. Lord, Analysis of Institutional Innovation in the Natural Resources and Environmental Realm: the Emergence of Alternative Problem-Solving Strategies in the American West 77-78 (University of Colorado 1999). 5 Specifically, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, Sierra Pacific Power Company (representing the interests of Reno-Sparks), the States of Nevada and California, Truckee-Carson Irrigation District (representing irrigation interests and most water rights holders), and the Department of the Interior were invited to the table. Each participant had a different goal: 26 The tribe sought increased flows into Pyramid Lake, clear title to the beds and bank of the lake, and funding for fisheries management and habitat restoration. Sierra Pacific was primarily interested in obtaining upriver storage on the Truckee to provide drought protection for Reno-Sparks . . . . The states wanted greater certainty in regional allocation matters, something that could be achieved by congressional ratification of the interstate water allocation compact. Parties associated with TCID generally wanted to maintain the status quo and their senior water rights. The federal government presumably sought to honor all federal obligations and protect all federal rights in an efficient manner. 27 Id. at 78. 28 The final agreement Congress enacted in 1990 set forth the purposes of Title II, the Truckee-Carson Pyramid Lake Water Rights Settlement Act (Settlement Act):(a) [to] provide for the equitable apportionment of the waters of the Truckee River, Carson River, and Lake Tahoe between the State of California and the State of Nevada; 29 (b) [to] authorize modifications to the purposes and operation of certain Federal Reclamation project facilities to provide benefits to fish and wildlife, municipal, industrial, and irrigation users, and recreation; 30 (c) [to] authorize acquisition of water rights for fish and wildlife; 31 (d) [to] encourage settlement of litigation and claims; 32 (e) [to] fulfill Federal trust obligations toward Indian tribes; 33 (f) [to] fulfill the goals of the Endangered Species Act by promoting the enhancement and recovery of the Pyramid Lake fishery; and 34 (g) [to] protect significant wetlands from further degradation and enhance the habitat of many species of wildlife which depend on those wetlands, and for other purposes. 35 Settlement Act §§ 202. 36 The Settlement Act directed several actions involving water allocation and usage in the region. For example, Section 204 confirmed the Alpine Decree, allocating water from the Carson River between California and Nevada. It also allocated water from the Truckee River and Lake Tahoe between the two states. Likewise, pursuant to Section 205, the Secretary of the Interior is required to negotiate with California and Nevada to reach an agreement governing operation of the reservoirs in the Truckee River basin. These negotiations are to culminate in the Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA). The TROA must provide, among other things, for operation of the Truckee River reservoirs to satisfy dam safety and flood control requirements and to enhance the spawning flows available for the Pyramid Lake fishery. 37 Section 206(a), the section of the Settlement Act in relation to which the WEIS was prepared, is intended to lay the foundation for the restoration and permanent protection of Great Basin wetland ecosystems in the Lahontan Valley, including the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge. S. Rep. No. 101-555, at 24. Subsection (a) directs the Secretary to acquire and manage sufficient water and water rights to support 25,000 acres of wetlands. Id. The Secretary is expected to meet this requirement through purchases (only from willing sellers), leases, exchanges, and public and private donations, among other means. Id. at 25. Further, [t]he Secretary is directed to acquire and use water and water rights in a manner consistent with, among other things, efforts to recover the Pyramid Lake fishery. Id. 6 38 Section 207 authorizes acquisition of water and water rights for recovery of endangered fish -the cui-ui and the Lahontan cutthroat trout. 39 Under Section 209, the Newlands Reclamation Project is targeted for improvement. It expands the authorized purposes of the Newlands Project to include recreation and water quality, amoung others. The Section also requires the Secretary to study the feasibility of improving the conveyance efficiency of Newlands Project facilities. 40 Groundwater assessment is a key feature of Section 210. The Secretary must, under Section 210(b)(16), assess and remedy significant adverse impacts on domestic groundwater resulting from other provisions of the Settlement Act. 41 Plaintiffs contend that (1) the Service violated NEPA by approving land and water rights purchases pursuant to Section 206 of the Settlement Act without first preparing a programmatic EIS analyzing the cumulative and synergistic impacts of the Act's interrelated provisions; and (2) the WEIS, prepared in connection with Section 206, failed to comply with NEPA because Defendants did not adequately address the cumulative impacts of actions other than wetlands acquisitions, failed to study impacts to groundwater, and failed to define and study a reasonable range of alternatives.