A recent lawsuit filed against the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) alleges that the agency’s delay in granting permit agreements for stream channel maintenance may have contributed to severe flooding in Merced County. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the city of Merced, a local elementary school, and 12 agricultural groups, claims that the CDFW stood in the way of necessary maintenance work for over five years.
The lawsuit is based on a string of emails dating back to 2018, which show repeated warnings from the CDFW that maintenance work could not proceed without a permit agreement. After the floods in January 2023 caused significant damage to homes, businesses, and farmland, at least one email suggests that CDFW staffers sought to shift blame onto local agencies.
Residents, farmers, and local officials have accused the CDFW of dragging out the permit agreement process, blocking essential flood control maintenance. The plaintiffs’ lead counsel, Mick Marderosian, claims that if the stream channels had been properly cleaned, the flooding would have been minimal or nonexistent.
The County of Merced, responsible for obtaining permits from the CDFW, made efforts to obtain the necessary agreements, according to the legal complaint. However, the emails obtained by Marderosian indicate that the county’s attempts were thwarted by the state agency.
The emails reveal a back-and-forth process of revisions, information requests, and meetings that lasted for years without resolution. It wasn’t until after the floods in January 2023 that the CDFW allowed emergency debris removal and levee repairs to proceed without a permit agreement.
The lawsuit alleges that the CDFW’s delay in issuing a permit agreement, despite repeatedly notifying the county that work could not be done without one, contributed to the severity of the flooding. The CDFW has declined to comment on the ongoing litigation, and no response has been received from the city of Merced.
Residents affected by the flooding are still in the process of cleaning up. One plaintiff, Ezio Sansoni, an 85-year-old farmer, experienced damage to his almond farm when the water broke through a levee and flooded his orchards. Sansoni believes that proper maintenance and upgrading of the existing system are crucial for future protection.
The lawsuit seeks to hold the CDFW accountable for the alleged mismanagement of stream channel maintenance, which resulted in significant damage to the affected areas in Merced County.