Mealey's Water Rights
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July 11, 2023
10th Circuit: Reclamation Took ‘Hard Look’ At Utah Water Exchange Contract
DENVER — A divided 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on July 10 affirmed a trial court ruling that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation took the required “hard look” at a proposed water contract between the agency and Utah and provided a reasoned explanation concluding that the contract did not require an environmental impact statement (EIS) for any effect on water or fish resources in the Green River Basin.
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July 10, 2023
6th Circuit Holds WOTUS Appeal In Abeyance Pending New Rule After Sackett Ruling
CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has granted an unopposed motion to hold in abeyance Kentucky’s appeal of a waters of the United States (WOTUS) ruling pending a new rule to conform with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Michael Sackett, et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al.
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July 07, 2023
Tribe, Fishermen Withdraw Injunction Motion After New Klamath Water Plan Posted
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge has confirmed the withdrawal of a motion by the Yurok Tribe and two fishermen’s nonprofit organizations to enjoin the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from supplying irrigation water from the Klamath Project until water flows are ensured for endangered salmon.
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July 06, 2023
Supreme Court Special Master Recommends Approval Of Rio Grande Consent Decree
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. Supreme Court special master overruled the objections of the United States to a consent decree settling water claims among Texas, New Mexico and Colorado involving the 1938 Rio Grande Compact and recommended that the court approve the decree and dismiss the United States’ objections without prejudice.
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June 22, 2023
Split Supreme Court Denies Navajo Nation’s Bid For Water Accounting
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States does not have a duty under an 1868 peace treaty to take “affirmative steps” to provide a water supply for the Navajo Nation, the U.S. Supreme Court held June 22 in a 5-4 decision, reversing a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling.
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June 07, 2023
Multiplaintiff, Interstate Or Notable Water Rights Cases
New developments in the following multiplaintiff, interstate or notable water rights cases are marked in boldface type.
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June 07, 2023
Oregon Water District Asks Supreme Court To Nix Tribes’ ‘Veto’ Of Adjudications
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Oregon water district has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that it says gives two Native American tribes “veto” power over state water rights adjudications in the Klamath Basin.
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June 07, 2023
Judge, States Ask About Sackett’s Effect On Their WOTUS Cases
A California federal judge has asked parties in a waters of the United States (WOTUS) case what bearing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Sackett v. EPA has on the case, and in a separate WOTUS case, two states have asked the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals how it would like to proceed in their appeal now that Sackett is decided.
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June 07, 2023
9th Circuit: Vacatur Of Pipeline Decision Moots Appeal By Community Groups
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has dismissed as moot an appeal by eight California community groups that sought to stop the vacatur of a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approval of the reuse of a gas pipeline for water that would potentially benefit their communities.
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June 07, 2023
State Appeals Panel: No Need Shown To Preserve Witness Testimony In Water Case
SPOKANE, Wash. — A Washington state appeals court panel on June 6 ruled that a county water board made no showing under a court rule that it needs to preserve witness testimony in a prospective water rights case.
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June 06, 2023
9th Circuit: Oregon Water District Can’t Force Remand Of Lawsuit To State Court
SAN FRANCISCO — In a 2-1 ruling, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 5 said a federal district court did not err by refusing to remand a federal water release lawsuit by the Klamath Irrigation District (KID) against the Bureau of Reclamation to an Oregon court.
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June 05, 2023
Oregon Irrigation District Appeals State Order Barring Water Releases From Lake
SALEM, Ore. — An Oregon irrigation district has petitioned a state trial court to declare unlawful an order by the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) that prohibits the district from delivering any water stored in its own reservoir to its patrons.
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June 05, 2023
Arizona Tribe, Water Districts Settle Water Quality Case
PHOENIX — An Arizona Native American tribe and two state water districts have stipulated to dismissal of the tribe’s water quality complaint after the parties say they negotiated a settlement.
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June 02, 2023
Due To Shortage, Arizona Pauses Approval Of New Development Using Groundwater
PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on June 1 announced during a press conference that due to a projected groundwater shortfall over the next 100 years, the Arizona Department of Water Resources has been ordered to pause approval of new “assured water determinations” that rely on groundwater.
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June 02, 2023
10th Circuit: Audubon Suit To Enforce Water Right In Wildlife Refuge Is Moot
DENVER — The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with a federal district court that a lawsuit by Audubon of Kansas seeking to force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to enforce a federal water right on a large Kansas wildlife refuge is moot because of a subsequent development in a decades-long dispute with the state and a water district.
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June 01, 2023
Montana Supreme Court Affirms Reversal Of Bottler’s Groundwater Permit
HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Supreme Court affirmed a trial court’s reversal of the approval of a company’s water use permit, agreeing that the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) erred in granting the company’s application.
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May 25, 2023
High Court Adopts Rapanos Definition, Narrows Scope Of Waters Of The United States
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an opinion and three concurring opinions, the U.S. Supreme Court on May 25 adopted the court’s plurality opinion in the 2006 Rapanos case to define the waters of the United States (WOTUS) for purposes of enforcing the Clean Water Act.
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May 12, 2023
6th Circuit Enjoins WOTUS Rule In Kentucky Pending State, Business Appeals
CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has granted a motion by Kentucky and business plaintiffs to enjoin the Biden administration’s waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, saying the plaintiffs have made sufficient general allegations of injury, have shown a reasonable chance of injury to establish standing and are “likely to prevail” in their challenge to the validity of the rule.
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May 09, 2023
Multiplaintiff, Interstate Or Notable Water Rights Cases
New developments in the following multiplaintiff, interstate or notable water rights cases are marked in boldface type.
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May 09, 2023
California Groundwater Agency Opposes City’s Suit To Void Allocation Ordinance
LOS ANGELES — A California groundwater management agency is opposing a lawsuit by a city challenging an ordinance allocating groundwater in the Oxnard and Pleasant Valley groundwater basins.
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May 09, 2023
Nevada High Court: Federal Contempt Challenge In State Water Case Is Premature
CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) of a state court order holding the federal agency in contempt of a 1934 water rights adjudication and granting property owners access to a national park to perform maintenance on creeks, saying that because the lower court has reserved a final ruling on terms of an injunction, an appeal “is not proper at this time.”
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May 09, 2023
6th Circuit: WOTUS Rule Stay Applies Only In Kentucky
CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has clarified that its administrative stay of the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule applies only in Kentucky while the court considers an injunction and the merits of the case.
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May 09, 2023
United States, Klamath Water Users Oppose Yurok Tribe’s Injunction Motion
SAN FRANCISCO — Federal government agencies and water users in the Klamath Basin in Oregon and California have filed oppositions to a motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining the federal government’s drought-related management of water in Klamath Lake and the Klamath River.
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May 08, 2023
New Mexico Appeals Court: Res Judicata Dooms Claims In Rio Grande Adjudication
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Court of Appeals has affirmed a trial court decision that claims to water rights in the Lower Rio Grande stream system are barred by the doctrine of res judicata, having been the subject of litigation from 1906 to 2021.
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May 08, 2023
Colorado High Court: State Engineer Can Issue Orders For Feedlot’s Use Of Water
DENVER — A unanimous Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that the state engineer had authority to order a cattle feedlot to comply with the engineer’s orders in regard to the feedlot’s use of irrigation water for cattle watering and to require it to comply with terms that would replace water and protect the water rights of other residents.