Environmentalists Sue To Protect California Fish From Treatment Plant Practices
By Peak Johnson
The cities of San Bernardino and Colton, CA, and a regional water treatment authority, are being sued by a collective of environmental groups because of the continuous killing of the Santa Ana suckers, a fish on the federal threatened species list.
The 60-day notice of intent to file was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, and the Sierra Club on August 22, according to pe.com.
More than 100 Santa Ana sucker deaths have been documented since 2014, reported pe.com.
Once a month, according to the Los Angeles Times, a water treatment plant that is jointly owned by the cities ceases its outflows. This causes great harm to the suckers who are left to swim in the drought stricken Santa Ana River.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees and volunteers take action and attempt to rescue as many of the fish as possible every month. Usually, this means placing the fish in buckets and ice chests filled with water, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Earlier this year, pe.com reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had confirmed that it was investigating.
“We are stepping in to enforce the Endangered Species Act because the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal agency tasked with protecting our public-trust resources, has so far refused to act to protect the Santa Ana sucker,” Drew Feldmann, conservation chairman for the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, said in a statement obtained by pe.com.
According to the Los Angeles Times, because of federal restrictions, San Bernardino is not allowed to turn off the water since doing so threatens the sucker.
It’s a double-edged sword, however, since, federal water law requires that the city perform regular maintenance, as that is the only way to keep the plant's discharge clean.
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