Case Number: SLS Nos. 039-99
Title: Bay-Delta: the Environmental Water Account

Case Files:

• Case (14 pages)
• Exhibits (34 pages)

Teaching Note: SLS No. 040-99 (forthcoming)

Author: Josh Eagle, Case Writer; Barton H. (“Buzz”) Thompson, Jr., Robert E. Paradise Professor of Natural Resources Law

Abstract: The Sacramento-San Joaquin delta, just east of San Francisco Bay, provides a large percentage of California’s fresh water supply. This water, vital to cities as well as the State’s agriculture industry, is pumped out of the Delta by large-scale state and federal projects. By removing significant amounts of water annually, the pumping operations have had a devastating effect on the Delta ecosystem. In particular, taking water out of the Delta has led to threatened or endangered status for several fish species, including the diminutive Delta smelt. This case study examines one proposed solution to the ecosystem effects of pumping operations, the Environmental Water Account (“EWA”), which would create an institution whose aim would be to provide water for fish. Proponents of the EWA claim that it could supplement or replace existing proscriptive regulation aimed at protecting the Delta ecosystem, allocating water to the environment in a more effective and efficient manner. The case study places students in the role of David Fullerton, a senior staff scientist for a local environmental group that supports the EWA concept, and asks them to analyze the EWA, address problems in implementing it, and contemplate the ways in which it might be “sold” to other interest groups.

Key Words: Bay-Delta, water, water quality, water allocation, consensus, Endangered Species Act, endangered species, fish, agriculture, market mechanisms.