Mealey's Water Rights
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January 11, 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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January 10, 2023
New Clean Water Rule Finalized; EPA, Army Corps Notify Supreme Court
The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have notified the U.S. Supreme Court and various federal district courts that the agencies have finalized a rule “establishing a durable definition of ‘waters of the United States’ (WOTUS),” a development that prompted Colorado to dismiss its lawsuit against the Trump administration’s version of the rule and one that the federal government hopes will influence a pending Supreme Court ruling attempting to define how the EPA enforces the Clean Water Act.
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January 10, 2023
New Mexico Appeals Court: Impaired Water Rights Ruling, Costs Award Were Correct
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico appeals court panel has affirmed a trial court decision that a multicounty development was likely to impair existing water rights and that residents and entities that opposed a water allocation application were entitled to costs.
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January 09, 2023
Supreme Court Special Master Denies U.S. Motion To Strike Tri-State Water Decree
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A U.S. Supreme Court special master has denied a motion by the United States to strike a proposed consent decree reached by Texas, New Mexico and Colorado on measuring the use of Rio Grande water and denied a motion by the federal government to keep the agreement under seal.
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January 09, 2023
Environmentalists Lose In Case Alleging Fish Take From Water District’s Dam
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a motion by four environmental groups to issue a temporary restraining order against a water district for allegedly “taking” fish through its operation of a dam and migrating fish ladder and denied their motion to remand their case to state court, noting that many of the issues are subject to the court’s continuing jurisdiction in a previous federal case.
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January 06, 2023
California Appeals Court Affirms Writ Denial In Ventura Water Projects Case
LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court affirmed a trial court’s denial of a petition for a writ of administrative mandate in which an environmental group claimed that a city’s water projects violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
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December 22, 2022
DOI Says It’s Not Obligated To Provide Navajo Nation With Colorado River Water
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States’ trust relationship with the Navajo Nation does not require the federal government to oversee the tribe’s right to use water from the Lower Colorado River, the Department of the Interior (DOI) says in its opening brief on the merits in the U.S. Supreme Court.
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December 06, 2022
Tribe, Water Districts Seek Extended Stay Pending Mediated Settlement
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A Native American tribe and two water districts have asked a California federal judge to extend for three months his stay of their water rights case because they believe that private mediation can result in a settlement.
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December 06, 2022
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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December 06, 2022
Water Takings Suit Remanded To Oregon State Court As Untimely Removed
MEDFORD, Ore. — An Oregon federal judge has granted a motion by Oregon to remand to state court a complaint that tribal water rights result in the uncompensated taking of a ranch’s property.
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December 06, 2022
United States, Utah, Water District Seek Dismissal Of Tribe’s Water Rights Claims
SALT LAKE CITY — The United States, the state of Utah and a Utah water district have filed briefs asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah to dismiss in whole or in part a lawsuit brought by a Native American tribe alleging a breach of duty to provide water and water rights since the creation of the reservation in the 1900s and through several water projects and water agreements.
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December 05, 2022
California State Judge Denies Challenges To Amended Delta Plan; It’s Not WaterFix
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California state trial court has denied petitions for writs of mandate contesting the legality of two amendments to the Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Plan (the Delta Plan), repeatedly refuting allegations that the Delta Plan is an attempt to revive the controversial and now-abandoned WaterFix project.
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December 05, 2022
6 New Mexico Residents Appeal Dismissal Of Challenge To State Water Adjudication
DENVER — Six New Mexico residents are appealing to the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a federal court’s dismissal of their lawsuit seeking to counter a state court adjudication ruling involving Native American water rights in the state.
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December 05, 2022
California Appeals Court: Water District Properly Denied Selling Surplus Water
LOS ANGELES — The Second District California Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court’s denial of a writ of mandate ordering an irrigation district to sell surplus water to an out-of-district user, saying the appellants failed to show that the district had an obligation to sell the water or that its refusal to do so was arbitrary and capricious.
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December 05, 2022
California Appeals Court OKs Attorney Fees In 2015 Water Curtailment Cases
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Sixth District California Court of Appeal has reversed a trial court’s denial of motions by six water districts to recover attorney fees for their superior court challenge of the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) curtailment of water rights during a drought but affirmed denial of legal expenses for an administrative hearing preceding litigation in state court.
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December 05, 2022
Texas, New Mexico, Colorado Ask Supreme Court To OK Rio Grande Water Settlement
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Texas, New Mexico and Colorado have asked a U.S. Supreme Court special master to enter a consent decree settling their water claims under the Rio Grande Compact and over the objection of the United States, which moved to strike the proposed agreement.
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December 01, 2022
10th Circuit Affirms Water Loan False Claims Suit Is Time-Barred, ‘Vexatious’
DENVER — The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a false claims lawsuit against a water district and other defendants, agreeing that the relator filed his action beyond the applicable 10-year statute of repose and that the lower court did not err in awarding defendants attorney fees and costs because the whistleblower lawsuit was vexatious and intended to harass the defendants.
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November 09, 2022
California Threatens To Fine Water Association $4,000 For Drought Violation
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has issued an administrative civil liability complaint against the Shasta River Water Association for allegedly violating state drought restrictions and diverting water for irrigation and endangering fish.
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November 09, 2022
Oregon Appeals Court Hears Arguments On Denial Of Dam Permit
SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Court of Appeals has heard arguments on whether the Oregon Water Resources Commission and Oregon Water Resources Department erred when they denied a permit for a new dam after the project received was approved in a three-step process over six years.
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November 08, 2022
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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November 08, 2022
United States: Deny Idaho Ranchers’ Intervention In Water Rights Forfeiture Case
BOSIE, Idaho — The United States says an Idaho federal court should deny a motion by ranching interests to intervene in the federal government’s lawsuit against Idaho for the state’s attempt to legislatively rule that the government has forfeited its water rights, saying the intervenors have no protectable interest and are located at least 65 miles from any federal land at issue.
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November 07, 2022
Oregon Seeks Remand Of Ranch Complaint Alleging Tribe’s Rights Took Its Water
MEDFORD, Ore. — After removing a complaint claiming that tribal water rights result in the uncompensated taking of a ranch’s property, the state of Oregon reversed course and moved to remand the case from federal to state court due to a dispute over whether removal took place within the specified time range.
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November 07, 2022
Judge: Farm’s Suit Against Wetlands Projects Barred By Federal Tort Claims Act
SPOKANE, Wash. — A Washington federal judge has held that a farm’s lawsuit that federal wetland conservation projects and their alleged impairment of senior water rights and crop production are exempted from tort liability under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).
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November 07, 2022
Colorado Ski Resort Sues Forest Service To Quiet Title To Water Rights
DENVER — A Colorado ski resort sued the U.S. Forest Service in federal court to quite its title to water rights in a watershed, to obtain an easement to exercise its water rights through a national forest and for declaration that it has rights in the watershed.
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November 07, 2022
4 Years Later, Parties In Gila River Groundwater Case Still Not Talking Settlement
TUCSON, Ariz. — Parties in a lawsuit by a Native American tribe alleging that six individuals are using groundwater from the Gila River in Arizona without authorization tell a federal court that they continue to not be engaged in settlement discussions.