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Mealey's Water Rights

March 06, 2024
6th Circuit Told Dismissal Of Kentucky’s WOTUS Challenge Should Remain Undisturbed

CINCINNATI — The Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers have told the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that it should affirm dismissal of lawsuits filed by Kentucky challenging one of the recent waters of the United States (WOTUS) rules, noting that the agencies have subsequently promulgated a rule that comports with the most recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the issue.
February 29, 2024
Montana Judge Cites Montana’s ‘Appetite’ For Abrogating State’s Water Use Act

TOWNSEND, Mont. — A Montana state court judge has granted summary judgment to objectors to a 442-acre development, finding that the county’s approval was arbitrary, capricious or unlawful and accusing the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) of flouting state water rights law.
February 26, 2024
U.S. High Court OKs Divided Argument On Tri-State Rio Grande Water Settlement

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court has granted a motion by Texas and New Mexico for divided argument at the March 20 hearing on whether the high court should accept a special master’s interim reports recommending a settlement of Rio Grande water distribution claims among Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.
February 26, 2024
California Appeals Court Rejects Challenge To Groundwater Replenishment Fee

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California appeals court panel has denied a mandamus petition filed by a pistachio grower asking the court to overrule the state requirement for water users to “pay first” before they challenge the groundwater law replenishment fee.
February 22, 2024
Interior, Tribes, Water Users Agree To Cooperate On Klamath Basin Projects

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), the Klamath Tribes, the Yurok Tribe, the Karuk Tribe and the Klamath Water Users Association have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate and cooperate on water-related efforts in the Klamath Basin, according to an announcement by the DOI.
February 06, 2024
3 Complaints Filed Against California’s Delta Water Conveyance Project

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Three lawsuits were filed by a water district, environmental groups and a Native American tribe asking a California state court to set aside state approval for the Delta Conveyance Project and to order the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR) to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in evaluating the environmental impact of the planned water project in the state’s Delta region.
February 06, 2024
Multiplaintiff, Interstate Or Notable Water Rights Cases

New developments in the following multiplaintiff, interstate or notable water rights cases are marked in boldface type.
February 06, 2024
Wyoming High Court: City Can’t Block University From Drilling, Using Water Wells

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled that a city cannot use a restrictive covenant in a deed to prevent the University of Wyoming from drilling two new water wells on its property and using that groundwater and that a subsequent state law blocking the city is not unconstitutional because the university has sovereign immunity.
February 05, 2024
Idaho Supreme Court Vacates Water Diversion Ruling By Lower Court

BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho Supreme Court majority on Feb. 2 reversed a district court ruling vacating state water department approval of a water diversion application, saying the lower court used the wrong criteria.
February 01, 2024
California Appeals Court: Agency Violated CEQA In OK Of Water District Expansion

FRESNO, Calif. — A California state appeals court panel has affirmed a trial court ruling that a local agency formation commission (LAFCO) violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by approving the annexation of about 630 acres of land and a sphere-of-influence amendment by a water storage district without first considering environmental impacts.
January 31, 2024
U.S. Supreme Court To Hear Interstate Rio Grande Water Case On March 20

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on March 20 on whether the high court should accept a special master’s interim report recommending a settlement of Rio Grande water distribution claims among Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.
January 29, 2024
Nevada High Court: State Engineer Authorized To Create Water ‘Superbasin’

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the state engineer has authority to create a “superbasin” to manage groundwater use among seven interconnected basins.
January 25, 2024
U.S. Supreme Court To Hear Interstate Rio Grande Water Case ‘In Due Course’

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court has set for argument “in due course” a special master’s interim report recommending a settlement of a dispute among Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and the United States over the distribution of water from the Rio Grande.
January 22, 2024
Idaho High Court: State Was Correct In Curtailing Junior Groundwater Rights

BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Supreme Court has ruled that the state Department of Water Resources and its director did not err in initiating a proceeding to determine whether there was enough water in an aquifer to meet junior groundwater rights, in concluding that the state’s Conjunctive Management of Surface and Ground Water Resources (CM Rules) did not apply to the proceedings, in finding that the proceeding did not violate the state’s prior appropriation doctrine and in finding that objecting groundwater districts were not denied due process in challenging the proceeding.
January 18, 2024
California Judge: State Delta Water Project Revenue Bonds Exceeded Authorization

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) exceeded its authority when it authorized the issuance of revenue bonds to fund the controversial Delta Conveyance Project, a state court ruled, handing a defeat to the state agency and a victory to the Sierra Club.
January 17, 2024
High Court Told ‘Chaos’ Will Ensue ‘In A World Without Chevron’ Deference

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court was told Jan. 17 that “chaos” will ensue “in a world without Chevron” deference by government attorneys, who urged it to apply stare decisis and uphold Chevron, which is being challenged in two cases arising out of federal fishing regulations.
January 09, 2024
United States: ESA Letter Did Not Constitute A Physical Taking Of District’s Water

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States has told the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a letter from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) making recommendations that a California water district implement to protect an endangered fish does not constitute a physical taking of the district’s property right.
January 09, 2024
California Environmentalists Ask Court To Void Approval Of New Reservoir

WOODLAND, Calif. — Six California environmental organizations have filed a petition for writ of mandate against a reservoir authority, asking a state court to rescind the authority’s environmental clearances for failure to meet the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
January 09, 2024
Multiplaintiff, Interstate Or Notable Water Rights Cases

New developments in the following multiplaintiff, interstate or notable water rights cases are marked in boldface type.
January 09, 2024
California Appeals Court Affirms Denial Of Challenges To Water Contract Amendments

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California appeals court has affirmed a trial court ruling that amendments to long-term water contracts between the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and 29 local governments do not violate the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act or California’s public interest doctrine.
January 08, 2024
U.S. High Court Won’t Decide If State Has Jurisdiction In Klamath ESA, Tribal Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 8 denied a petition by the Klamath Irrigation District for the high court to order that the district’s lawsuit against the federal government’s operation of the Klamath Project be remanded to state court and included in a water adjudication.
January 05, 2024
Federal Judge Dismisses Water Rights Case After Tribes’ Rights Are Settled

OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma federal judge has granted an unopposed motion by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and Oklahoma City to dismiss their water rights complaint against the United States in light of a 2016 settlement agreement among the board, the city and the United States regarding the water rights of two Native American tribes in the context of a stream adjudication.
January 05, 2024
California Judge Modifies Weir Injunction To Allow For ‘Dire Necessity’ Of Water

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A California state court judge has modified his Nov. 9 preliminary injunction on Bakersfield’s operation of weirs to allow for “dire necessity to sustain human consumption through the domestic water supply.”
January 05, 2024
D.C. Federal Judge: Army Corps’ Manual For ACT River Basin Is Lawful

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge has granted summary judgment to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, finding that its Master Manual for the operation of federal water projects in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) River Basin is lawful.
January 04, 2024
ACF River Basin Appeal Stayed After Alabama, Army Corps Reach Agreement

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has granted a joint motion to stay an appeal of a trial court ruling involving the operation of federal water projects in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin after the parties told the court that they reached an agreement to modify the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ modification of the Water Control Manual for the ACF Basin.