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Lawsuit Planned Over Water Release from Seven Oaks Dam Near Highland; Critics Say Santa Ana River Fish Habitat Harmed – Press Enterprise

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Lawsuit Planned Over Water Release from Seven Oaks Dam Near Highland; Critics Say Santa Ana River Fish Habitat Harmed – Press Enterprise Lawsuit planned over water release from Seven Oaks Dam near Highland; critics say Santa Ana River fish habitat harmed – Press Enterprise . LOCAL NEWS Lawsuit planned over water release from Seven Oaks Dam near Highland; critics say Santa Ana River fish habitat harmed https://www.pe.com/...armed/?utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social[12/12/2019 7:54:26 AM] Lawsuit planned over water release from Seven Oaks Dam near Highland; critics say Santa Ana River fish habitat harmed – Press Enterprise Slide gates are lifted below Seven Oaks Dam above Highland on Thursday, May 23, 2019 to allow water to flow into a sedimentation basin. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) By CITY NEWS SERVICE | [email protected] | PUBLISHED: December 11, 2019 at 7:46 pm | UPDATED: December 11, 2019 at 7:47 pm Two wildlife advocacy groups Wednesday announced their intent to sue the San Bernardino County Department of Public Works, as well as other regional and federal government agencies, for allegedly putting a fish species’ habitat at risk with the release of water from the Seven Oaks Dam, which the defendants say was necessary to reduce potential public safety hazards. According to the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity, the outflows that started on May 11 and continued for several days resulted in high sediment levels that disrupted the spawning activity of Santa Ana sucker fish, which populate the Santa Ana River, coursing through Orange, Riverside S and San Bernardino counties. CBD officials allege foraging grounds were overwhelmed with muck and debris, damaging the https://www.pe.com/...armed/?utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social[12/12/2019 7:54:26 AM] Lawsuit planned over water release from Seven Oaks Dam near Highland; critics say Santa Ana River fish habitat harmed – Press Enterprise sucker’s food supply and smothering fishes’ eggs. The water remained turbid for three months after the dam release, officials said. TOP ARTICLES 1/5 W By M SKIP AD “This irresponsible action pushed these iconic Southern California fish closer to extinction,” said Ileene Anderson, a scientist at the center. “These agencies must be held accountable for violating the law and ignoring warnings from federal wildlife officials. It’s sad and frustrating to see this happen when so much time and effort have been spent trying to save this wonderful species.” Besides the San Bernardino County agency, the Riverside County Flood Control & Water Conservation District, the Orange County Public Works Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were named in the pending legal action. https://www.pe.com/...armed/?utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social[12/12/2019 7:54:26 AM] Lawsuit planned over water release from Seven Oaks Dam near Highland; critics say Santa Ana River fish habitat harmed – Press Enterprise Riverside County officials referred inquiries about the legal action to their counterparts in San Bernardino County. That county’s public affairs chief, David Wert, told City News Service the water releases were “essential for public safety.” “The flow rate is part of the standard operating procedures for the dam developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers called the `Water Control Plan,’ which has requirements for the water level behind the dam to be at (particular) elevations during certain periods of the year,” Wert said. “This year might have marked the first time in dam history that the water level behind the dam was that high in May. Nonetheless, there is vital safety inspection and maintenance work required on the dam that can’t be performed until the water level is below a certain level.” Dan Silver with the Endangered Habitats League, which is partnering with the CBC in the upcoming lawsuit, said management of the dam “can successfully combine flood control with preserving wildlife values and the citizens’ natural heritage.” He said releases should not be done during the Santa Ana sucker fish’s spawning season. The Seven Oaks Dam is near the headwater to the Santa Ana River, near Highland roughly eight miles northeast of Redlands. The mid-May controlled water dumps involved 700 cubic feet per second flows downstream, according to the CBD. The organization said the release would have been mitigated had it immediately followed a storm, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service recommended that local authorities wait until a change in the weather, but the advice was ignored. The sucker is on the federal Endangered Species List, and it has been a source of conflict for decades, with regional water agencies filing civil actions in an attempt to reduce regulations that prevent access to fresh water stocks in order to preserve fish spawning areas. In 2015, the agencies petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a hearing, but it was denied. https://www.pe.com/...armed/?utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social[12/12/2019 7:54:26 AM] Marquez’s request to withdraw guilty plea in San Bernardino terrorism case could be considered in January – San Bernardino Sun NEWSCRIME + PUBLIC SAFETY Marquez’s request to withdraw guilty plea in San Bernardino terrorism case could be considered in January https://www.sbsun.com/...2/06/marquezs-request-to-withdraw-guilty-plea-in-san-bernardino-terrorism-case-could-be-considered-in-january/[12/12/2019 7:54:37 AM] Marquez’s request to withdraw guilty plea in San Bernardino terrorism case could be considered in January – San Bernardino Sun S In this Dec. 17, 2015, courtroom sketch, Enrique Marquez appears in federal court in Riverside, Calif. Marquez pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists by providing weapons to San Bernardino shooting gunman Syed Rizwan Farook but has since attempted to withdraw his plea. (AP file photo by Bill Robles) By BRIAN ROKOS | [email protected] | The Press-Enterprise PUBLISHED: December 6, 2019 at 1:23 pm | UPDATED: December 11, 2019 at 11:10 pm A long-delayed court ruling on whether to allow Enrique Marquez Jr. to withdraw his guilty plea to charges that he supplied the weapons used in the Dec. 2, 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack could come in early 2020. The federal government’s response to the motion to withdraw the plea is due Dec. 23, according to court records. And Marquez’s reply, if any, is due Jan. 17. Hearings have been set for Jan. 30 and 31 in Riverside’s U.S. District Court. Marquez made his initial plea on Feb. 16, 2017 and filed the motion to withdraw in January. Since https://www.sbsun.com/...2/06/marquezs-request-to-withdraw-guilty-plea-in-san-bernardino-terrorism-case-could-be-considered-in-january/[12/12/2019 7:54:37 AM] Marquez’s request to withdraw guilty plea in San Bernardino terrorism case could be considered in January – San Bernardino Sun then, attorneys on both sides have filed a raft of motions and documents, all under seal and therefore D not public. By TOP ARTICLES 1/5 M SKIP AD Marquez was a childhood friend and former neighbor of Syed Rizwan Farook, who along with wife Tashfeen Malik were accused of shooting 14 people to death and wounding 22 others during a holiday party and training session for San Bernardino County Division of Environmental Health employees at the Inland Regional Center. Marquez and Farook planned attacks on Riverside City College and on 91 Freeway motorists that were never carried out, authorities said, with Marquez purchasing two rifles and explosives for Farook for those aborted attacks. Those weapons, authorities say, were eventually used in the Dec. 2 attack. Prosecutors say Marquez broke federal law by lying on the purchase by form by saying the weapons https://www.sbsun.com/...2/06/marquezs-request-to-withdraw-guilty-plea-in-san-bernardino-terrorism-case-could-be-considered-in-january/[12/12/2019 7:54:37 AM] Marquez’s request to withdraw guilty plea in San Bernardino terrorism case could be considered in January – San Bernardino Sun were for himself. In February 2017, Marquez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to providing material support to terrorists and making a false statement in connection with the acquisition of the firearms. Marquez, who was not accused of plotting with Farook on the Dec. 2 massacre, remains in custody. Updates on other defendants with ties to the case: • Farook’s brother, Syed Raheel Farook, is now scheduled to be sentenced on May 18. He signed a marriage license saying he had witnessed the ceremony of Mariya Chernykh, Rizwan Farook’s sister- in-law, and Marquez. The marriage was to help her obtain permanent U.S. residency. He has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit immigration fraud. • Chernykh faces a March 9 sentencing. She came to the U.S. from Russia in 2009 on a three-month visa and never left. She paid Marquez to marry her in Riverside County even while she was living with her boyfriend and their child in Ontario. She has pleaded guilty to conspiracy, perjury and two counts of making false statements. • Tatiana Farook, Raheel Farook’s wife, is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 10. She signed the marriage license as well, purporting to witness the ceremony. She has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit immigration fraud. • Rafia Farook, the mother of the Farooks, is waiting on a life insurance case to be resolved. She was the primary beneficiary of Rizwan Farook’s $280,000 in life insurance policies, which are being held by a court after being paid by Minnesota Life Insurance. The Justice Department wants the money, calling it “assets derived from a federal crime of terrorism.” A judge said he will rule on this issue after the cases of Marquez, Chernykh and Raheel and Tatiana Farook are finished.
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