California was one of the first states to codify the principle of environmental justice ("EJ"), which state law defines as "the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies." Historically, activism in the EJ field has focused on the siting of hazardous facilities such as landfills in poor communities of color, and on efforts to mitigate the associated pollution burden and health effects. However, procedural justice, which one researcher defines as the "fairness of the process by which goods are allocated and decisions made," is also an important component of EJ activism.
In 1878, John Wesley Powell, the first director of the United States Geological Survey, published his Report on the Lands in the Arid Regions of the United States. In his Arid Lands Report, Powell foresaw the essential role that water would play in the development of the American west and the challenges faced in managing watersheds that included not only mainstem rivers but networks of tributaries that contributed water to mainstem rivers.
Nearly two-thirds of the California population and seven million acres of agricultural land receive water from the State Water Project ("SWP") operated by the California Department of Water Resources ("DWR") or the Central Valley Project ("CVP") operated by the United States Bureau of Reclamation ("Bureau") (SWP and CVP, collectively referred to as "Projects"). In the Consolidated Salmonid Cases, the Eastern District Court of California reviewed a Biological Opinion ("BiOp") issued in 2009 by the National Marine Fisheries Service ("NMFS") that placed restrictions on the Projects' operations to protect endangered species.
California Water Law Journal
McGeorge School of Law, Water Law Society - Learn and Write About Legal Issues in Water Law
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