Tuesday August 11, 2026
Active NorCal —
A federal judge declined Monday to impose restrictions on Bureau of Reclamation operations at Shasta Dam and Reservoir, ruling that the Center for Biological Diversity and its co-plaintiffs have not cleared the bar needed for a preliminary injunction. Courthouse News reported that U.S. District Judge Jennifer Thurston said the groups must make a heightened showing before she will step in.
The suit turns on whether Reclamation’s operation of the Central Valley Project and California’s State Water Project complies with a 2024 biological opinion issued under the Endangered Species Act. The groups want reduced releases from Shasta and a new operating plan. The bureau projected the reservoir would hold more than 3.7 million acre-feet at the end of April but only 2.2 million by the end of September, a drawdown the plaintiffs argue breaks the opinion’s terms.