Central Valley water districts sue feds

FRESNO, Calif.—A coalition of water districts in California's Central Valley are suing to stop the federal government from enforcing a new set of rules governing the endangered delta smelt.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Fresno by the Westlands Water District, the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority says the rules issued in December by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will harm Californians who depend on Central Valley Project water supply.

Environmentalists say the water districts are trying to capitalize on the state's current drought conditions to turn back the new smelt rules.

Several federal agencies, including the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, are named in the lawsuit. Spokeswoman Lynnette Wirth says the bureau has not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.