Court rejects environmentalists' lawsuit to drain Hetch Hetchy Reservoir

[TexasTowelie]

The Wapama Falls trail next to Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Reservoir takes wilderness lovers on a 2 1/2-mile trek to the waterfall, which is still flowing this fall, thanks to abundant winter rains. (Courtesy of Dino Vournas)


A California appeals court has rejected a long-running attempt by environmentalists to drain Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park, a linchpin of the water supply for 2.6 million Bay Area residents.

In a 3-0 ruling filed Monday afternoon, the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Fresno upheld a lower court decision by a Tuolumne County judge two years ago.

That judge, Kevin Seibert, had rejected arguments from Restore Hetch Hetchy, an environmental group based in Berkeley, that the reservoir, built in 1923, violates California’s constitution. The group said that the reservoir and its 312-foot-high dam violate a provision of the state constitution that requires water to be diverted in a “reasonable” way, because there are other places to store Hetch Hetchy’s water that aren’t in a national park.

The appeals court on Monday agreed with Seibert’s ruling, however, that federal law, specifically the 1913 Raker Act, which allowed the construction of the dam, pre-empts that provision of the state constitution, which was written in 1928.

Read more: https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/07/10/court-rejects-environmentalists-lawsuit-to-drain-hetch-hetchy-reservoir/

[NBachers]

1. They never give up, do they?