Mealey's Water Rights
-
May 18, 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.
-
May 17, 2022
Nevada Judge Vacates State Engineer’s Creation Of Water ‘Superbasin’
LAS VEGAS — A Nevada judge on April 19 vacated a state engineer’s order that created a “superbasin” combining several separate groundwater basins, saying the engineer lacked authority to override prior appropriation water rights and failed to follow due process in arriving at his order.
-
May 17, 2022
Water District Can’t Intervene In Tribe’s Lawsuit For More Water For Boat Dance
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on May 16 denied a motion by the Klamath Irrigation District (KID) to intervene in a water release case between the Yurok Tribe and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, finding that the district raises an issue that goes beyond the scope of the lawsuit.
-
May 17, 2022
Water District Can’t Intervene In Tribe’s Lawsuit For More Water For Boat Dance
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on May 16 denied a motion by the Klamath Irrigation District (KID) to intervene in a water release case between the Yurok Tribe and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, finding that the district raises an issue that goes beyond the scope of the lawsuit.
-
May 17, 2022
Montana High Court: Well Dispute A Matter Of Contract Law, Not Water Use Law
HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Supreme Court on May 10 said contract law and not the Montana Water Use Act applies to a dispute between two neighbors over a shared well agreement.
-
May 17, 2022
Minnesota Appeals Court: Farm Timely Appealed Water Redetermination
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Court of Appeals on April 18 reversed summary judgment dismissing a landowner’s appeal of a water district’s redetermination of “benefits and damages” for a drainage system, finding that the appeal was not filed late,
-
May 17, 2022
Nevada High Court: Trial Court Erred In OKing Separate Appeal In Adjudication
CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Supreme Court on May 4 said a district court improvidently certified that a claimant was not involved in other exceptions to a water rights adjudication and was entitled to summary judgment.
-
May 17, 2022
Judge To Grant Voluntary Vacatur Of Approvals For California Water Pipeline
LOS ANGELES — A California federal court judge on May 4 issued a tentative ruling granting the Bureau of Land Management’s motion to voluntarily remand and vacate the bureau’s approval of rights of way allowing water to be transported through an abandoned natural gas pipeline crossing federal land, saying the agency has a right to reevaluate its original approval.
-
May 16, 2022
Judge Won’t Lift Injunction Against Water Truck Laws; Concerns Of Hmong Remain
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal court judge on May 12 denied a motion by Siskiyou County to dissolve a preliminary injunction blocking two county ordinances regulating the trucking of water, saying changes by the county resolve some concerns about the effects of the ordinances on a predominantly Hmong community but do not establish that the injunction is no longer needed.
-
May 13, 2022
California Appeals Court Remands WaterFix Winners’ Fee Issue For Reconsideration
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Third District Court of Appeal on May 11 reversed a trial court’s denial of private attorney general fees in cases challenging the now-defunct California WaterFix project, saying the lower court failed to apply the correct legal standard in determining that the plaintiffs’ lawsuits resulted in actions taken by the state’s new governor.
-
April 28, 2022
10th Circuit: Federal Court Can’t Enforce Tribal Court Judgment In Water Dispute
DENVER — The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 27 affirmed a federal district court ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to recognize and enforce a tribal court judgment in a water rights dispute that took place on a Native American reservation.
-
April 26, 2022
Federal Judge Denies Remand Of Irrigation District’s Suit Seeking Injunction
MEDFORD, Ore. — An Oregon federal judge on April 25 denied a motion by the Klamath Irrigation District (KID) to remand the district’s lawsuit seeking an injunction preventing the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from releasing water from the Upper Klamath Lake except to provide irrigation under state law water rights.
-
April 26, 2022
California Appeals Court: Water Bottling Permit Based On Bad Environmental Report
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California appeals court on April 20 ordered a trial court to grant a petition for a writ of mandamus and ruled that Siskiyou County must revise a water bottling permit to broaden the permit’s objectives, revise its alternatives analysis and recirculate the environmental impact report (EIR) discussion of greenhouse gas emissions and allow comments on them.
-
April 12, 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.
-
April 12, 2022
Voluntary Remand, Interim Plan OK’d In California Endangered Species Water Lawsuit
FRESNO, Calif. — In a case challenging the underpinnings of water releases for endangered fish species, a California federal judge on March 11 granted the United States’ motion for voluntary remand without vacatur, imposed an interim operating procedure and a six-month stay.
-
April 12, 2022
Summary Judgment, Dismissal Of Clean Water Rule Case Appealed By Ohio, Tennessee
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio and Tennessee on April 4 appealed to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals an Ohio federal judge’s March 23 order denying summary judgment on their challenge of the 2015 Clean Water Rule and his dismissal of the states’ seven-year-old lawsuit as moot in light of changed circumstances.
-
April 12, 2022
Amici: Don’t Exempt Senior Water Right Holders From Water Curtailment Orders
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Two Native American tribes, a Filipino organization and an environmental group on March 10 filed an amicus curiae brief urging a California appeals court to find that senior irrigators in California’s Sacramento and San Joaquin River watersheds are not exempt from water curtailment orders issued by the California State Water Control Board (SWCB) during a 2015 drought.
-
April 12, 2022
Irrigation District Asks 9th Circuit To Order Decision On 1-Year-Old Motion
SAN FRANCISCO — An Oregon irrigation district on March 24 petitioned the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to grant its mandamus petition and order a federal district court to promptly rule on the district’s one-year-old emergency motion for a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) allowing the district to use its rights to water in the Upper Klamath Lake for irrigation.
-
April 11, 2022
Judge Issues Split Dismissal Rulings In Water Release Case By Tribes, Fishermen
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on March 24 denied a motion by the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) to dismiss the United States’ cross-claim in a water lawsuit by a Native American tribe, two fishing organizations and an environmental group but granted dismissal of a supplemental complaint.
-
April 11, 2022
California Appeals Court: San Diego Prevailed In Water Rate Case, Is Due Costs, Fees
SAN FRANCISCO — A California appeals court on March 17 affirmed a trial court’s ruling that the San Diego County Water Authority (San Diego) is the prevailing party in a long-running water rate case against the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan) and is due $326,918 in attorney fees and costs.