Salazar

MEMORANDUM DECISION RE CROSS MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT RE REASONABLE AND PRUDENT ALTERNATIVE CLAIMS (Docs. 230 & 236).

I. INTRODUCTION

This case is before the court on the parties’ cross motions for summary judgment to adjudicate the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s (“FWS”) December 15, 2008 biological opinion (“BiOp” or “2008 BiOp”) regarding the impact of coordinated operations of the Central Valley Project (“CVP”) and State Water Project (“SWP”) (the “Projects”) on the threatened delta smelt, prepared pursuant to Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), 16 U.S.C. § 1536 (a)(2). Because the BiOp found that planned Project operations would jeopardize the continued existence of the delta smelt and/or adversely modify its critical habitat, FWS proposed a Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (“RPA”) that imposes certain operating restrictions on the Projects.

Plaintiffs in all five consolidated cases (“Plaintiffs”) argue that FWS was required to make certain findings in the text of the BiOp related to the RPA, namely whether (1) the RPA is consistent with continued operations of the SWP and CVP, (2) implementation of the RPA is economically and…