W.A.T.E.R. and the Winnemen Wintu Tribe’s lawsuit against the Crystal Geyser environmental impact report had its first day in court on May 10.  Our lawyer Marsha Burch faced off against County attorney William Abbot and Crystal Geyser lawyer Barbara Brenner. Judge Karen Dixon heard explanations of our case arguments and rebuttals from the other side. Issues of the inadequacies of the EIR project description, AB 52 consideration of Tribal Cultural Resources, air quality and Health Risk Assessments, green house gas emissions, noise impacts, and the hydrology effects of large scale water pumping were all presented by Ms. Burch followed by rebuttals from opposition lawyers and questions from the Judge. We feel the hearing went well and our lawyer made an excellent presentation with powerful arguments.  The Judge will probably make a case judgment some time in June. At the end of the hearing Judge Dixon thanked the members of the public attending for their interest and commented that the issues in the case are important and close to the heart of many in the community and she would consider the case carefully and base her ruling on a careful reading of the law. Our suit against the City of Mount Shasta’s approval of the waste treatment permit for Crystal Geyser will be also heard before Judge Dixon on June 7, 8:30am at the Yreka Courthouse.