June 7, 2014 — Hundreds of endangered Southern California Steelhead Trout are dead after a power outage kept the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s lone operating water pump from funneling much-needed flows into Hilton Creek beneath the Cachuma Reservoir.
The Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center has threatened to sue, alleging the bureau violated the Endangered Species Act, which prohibits harming, hunting or in any way capturing or killing listed species. The power outage on or around May 25 withheld mandated water flows for a period, subsequently disrupting the species’ movement. More than 200 steelhead were found dead in the waterway, according to the EDC.
The nonprofit environmental law firm issued the Bureau of Reclamation a 60-Day Notice of Violations and Intent to Sue on May 30.
The bureau is allowed one incidental adult steelhead death and up to four juvenile steelhead deaths a year under its biological opinion with the National Marine Fisheries Service, according to EDC Staff Attorney Nicole Di Camillo. This determination was finalized in 2000 and was meant to help restore and protect the endangered species.
“They are magnitudes beyond that in these fish deaths,” Di Camillo said. “The minute they killed more fish than allowed, they should have contacted the National Marine Fisheries.” While Di Camillo said talks have been ongoing, she is not sure of the depth of these discussions.
Read the full story at the Santa Maria Times