This from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. This is what I and my group CPR-Fish, and the FOC have been doing in our spare time! This battle is not let over. Fishermen will prevail!... it just takes more effort and time!!!
The Ninth Circuit of Appeals basically says that we were right, but they must rule in favor of FERC concerning CPR-Fish and FOC joint complaint against FERC, concerning Tacoma Powers failure to me it's 1967 Fishery Mitigation Agreement.
Appeals court backs agency in salmon-saving dispute case
Friday, June 15, 2001
By MIA PENTA
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE -- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has the power to dismiss
allegations that the City of Tacoma failed to maintain salmon populations onthe Cowlitz River, a federal appeals court panel ruled yesterday.
The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco concluded that commission did not abuse its power by declining to revoke Tacoma's hydroelectric license for two dams on the river after
environmental groups complained of declining fish populations.
The commission said it never approved a 1967 agreement between the state and Tacoma City Light regarding fish populations.
But the appeals court opinion, written by Judge Betty B. Fletcher, made clear that the court did not agree with the commission's dismissal of allegations that Tacoma had neglected to operate juvenile fish passage
facilities and failed to install fish traps.
"Put another way, the commission's blanket conclusion that Tacoma had not violated the terms of the license and that the petitioner's specific charges with respect to fish traps and downstream passage facilities were unfounded does not appear to be supported by 'substantial evidence,'" the opinion read.
Spokeswoman Celeste Miller said she had not seen the ruling but the commission generally does not comment on court cases.
Jonathan Feil, a lawyer for the environmental groups, said his clients were reviewing the decision to determine their next move. But he said they viewed the case as somewhat of a moral victory.
"The court's decision reinforces the importance of having these local citizen groups as guardians and watchdogs," Feil said. "The court's decision
shows that we are right on the law, but the court decided it does not have a remedy to right this wrong."
In 1967, Tacoma City Light and the Washington Department of Fisheries and Wildlife agreed to maintain salmon populations on the Cowlitz through use of the watershed and hatchery production.
The two local groups filed a complaint in May 1997 with energy commission, saying Tacoma City Light had violated the terms of the agreement. They asked that Tacoma be fined and ordered to make up the deficit of fish.
The commission dismissed the complaint, saying that violations of the agreement did not amount to violations of Tacoma's hydroelectric license.
The agreement was a private contract between Tacoma City Light and the state that it never approved, the commission said. The commission noted that re-licensing was a preferable forum to resolve the complaints of declining fish populations. Federal, state and local agencies have signed a comprehensive plan for a new license that addresses concerns about the fish, said Debbie Young, natural resources manager for Tacoma City Light.
The commission issued a draft environmental statement recommending minor changes to the plan, she said. A final statement and a new license are expected by the end of the year, Young said.
The two environmental groups are watching the new requirements closely, planning to stay active to protect fish.
© 1998-2001 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
CPR-Fish and FOC are these "2 inviromental gorups".
This what I do when I am not fighting "access" issues!
Cowlitzfisherman
Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????
_________________________
Cowlitzfisherman
Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????
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