California Fish and Game sues U.S. Army Corps over levee trees
The state of California sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday to fight rules that could eliminate trees on levees in Sacramento and statewide.
The Department of Fish and Game filed the suit in federal court in Sacramento, alleging the Corps' levee maintenance policy violates the Endangered Species Act and other laws. Fish and Game initially sought to join a similar lawsuit filed last year by Friends of the River and other environmental groups, but was denied on technical grounds.
The state Department of Water Resources also opposes the Corps policy but has not taken legal action. DWR estimates chopping down millions of trees in the Central Valley would cost $7.5 billion, diverting money from more important flood safety tasks.
The Corps has said its policy is not new, and that it merely made uniform a national policy that had not been applied in California before. It allows only grass on levees, asserting that tree roots weaken levees.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/24/4512874/state-fish-and-game-sues-us-army.html#storylink=cpy
