Four environmental groups on Friday, September 22, filed a lawsuit challenging the Brown administration’s permit to kill endangered salmon and smelt in the proposed Delta Tunnels project.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Bay Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council and San Francisco Baykeeper filed the suit in California Superior Court in Sacramento,  represented by the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice. On July 28, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), under the helm of Director Chuck Bonham, issued an “incidental take permit” for the construction and operation of California WaterFix in “compliance” with Section 2081(b) of the California Endangered Species Act (CESA).