Hoopa Valley tribe sues over water contracts in California

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Hoopa Valley tribe alleges in a lawsuit that the Biden administration is failing to collect money from farms that rely on federally supplied water to pay for damages to tribal fisheries. The tribe has a reservation in northwest California. Its lawsuit filed Monday focuses on money it says is owed for mitigation work along the Trinity River. The river is a major source of water for the Central Valley Project, a vast system of dams and canals that transports water south to farmers. The suit says the contractors that rely on that water owe at least $340 million for habitat restoration.