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Judge Wanger Blasts Government and Government Witness

In a ruling on September 2, 2011 Judge Oliver Wanger found against the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s request to locate what is known as X2, a measure point of salinity in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, 74 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. The goal was to have more Delta water flow to the Pacific Ocean, supposedly beneficial to the fish. The government filed a motion to stay the ruling. On September 16, Judge Wanger refused to grant the stay and blasted the federal government and several of its witness. In part, this is what the judge had to say:

The government’s witnesses’ declarations were not credible
The government had acted in bad faith

About the witnesses’ assertions that not allowing X2 at 74 miles would lead to the “extinction” of the delta smelt, Judge Wange said:

“The Court believes that the testimony of Mr. Feyrer, Bureau of Reclamation’s expert, and Dr. Norris, the Fish & Wildlife Service’s expert—is riddled with inconsistency. The Court finds that Dr. Norris has not been honest with this Court. I find her testimony to be that of a zealot.

“Mr. Feyrer is equally inconsistent—self and internally contradictory. The suggestion by Dr. Norris that the failure to implement X2 at 74 kilometers is going to end the delta smelt existence on the face of our planet is false—it is outrageous; it is contradicted by her own
testimony, it is contradicted by Mr. Feyrer’s testimony, it is contradicted by the most recent adaptive management plan review, it is contradicted by the prior studies, it is—candidly, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

This is a monumental statement by Judge Wanger. It points to the fact when it comes to biological opinions, like the one that will affect the Stanislaus River and New Melones, the government’s science is not credible as are its witnesses.

So when they say they have no intent on draining New Melones. Can we trust them?

Read The Fresno Bee’s story on Wanger’s ruling here.