Judge issues final ruling on Siskiyou permits

A judge has finalized his earlier interim decision invalidating California Department of Fish and Game-issued permits to irrigators in two rural Northern California valleys.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith last week reiterated his opinion that the DFG’s special permit program for water diversions wasn’t set up according to state environmental laws.

The decision upholds a preliminary ruling by Goldsmith in February that effectively suspended the controversial permitting program, which had drawn fire from both conservationists and irrigators.

“The judge has essentially remanded it back to the agency to do it right and fix it, and they can do that,” said Glen Spain, northwest regional director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations.

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