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NAS Will Do Independent Review Of Biological Opinions on State Water Crisis

There is good news for water activists around the Central Valley.

The Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, says the National Academy of Sciences is taking up the water crisis.

"The National Academy of Science is meeting tomorrow. It's expected to approve the Department of the Interior's request for an independent and scientific review of how to both protect the ecosystem, and provide a reliable water supply," Salazar said during a morning teleconference.

The independent study will examine what exactly is causing the changes to the Delta Ecosystem, and will review recent biological opinions protecting the Delta Smelt. 

"There is a potential for adjustments to water restrictions. They have committed to look at question of whether there are alternative approaches for satisfying needs of endangered species that could have less water impact. Depending on what they find, we may be able to make adjustments," said Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes.

While both Hayes and Salazar say they believe the opinions in the current biological study, they agree having an institution like the NAS review the crisis, may be the best move for the current situation.

"This is a phenomenon that we realized the tension between water supply and environmental issues have reached a crisis proportion. We need to ensure we have best science we're applying here," Hayes said.

They hope to have the NAS release a report by March 15th. The Obama Administration also wants to have a federal action plan in place by December 15th.

Stay with KMPH and KMPH.com as we continue to follow this story.