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Mealey's Water Rights

January 12, 2021
California Appeals Court Affirms Ruling In Antelope Valley Adjudication

FRESNO, Calif. — A California appeals court panel on Dec. 9 affirmed an adjudication court’s ruling on a water district’s denial of water rights in in the Antelope Valley water basin and limitations on the amount of water it could export to customers outside the valley.
January 12, 2021
Oregon Appeals Court Reverses Vacating Of State Agency’s Water Curtailment Order

SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Court of Appeals on Dec. 30 reversed a trial court order vacating a state water curtailment order, saying that the court lacked jurisdiction and that the issue is covered by an agreement among parties and that is in litigation in another state court that is reviewing the Klamath River Basin adjudication.
January 07, 2021
U.S. High Court To Hear Arguments Feb. 22 In Florida-Georgia Water Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 31 scheduled a hearing for Feb. 22 to hear Florida’s exceptions to a special master’s recommendation that the high court deny equitable apportionment of water in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin that Florida shares with Georgia.
December 21, 2020
10th Circuit Panel Denies Rehearing In Tribal Aboriginal Water Rights Case

DENVER — A 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 18 declined to rehear its finding in a divided opinion that three Native American tribes still possess their aboriginal water rights in the Jemez River in New Mexico because Spain never acted affirmatively to extinguish the rights when it held sovereignty over the land in the 1500s (United States, et al. v. Tom Abousleman, et al., Nos. 18-2164, 18-2167, 10th Cir.).
December 14, 2020
Supreme Court Backs Water Evaporation Ruling In Texas- New Mexico Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a near-majority vote, the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 14 denied a motion by Texas to review a river master’s award of a credit to New Mexico for evaporated reservoir water in a six-year-old interstate water dispute between the neighboring states (Texas v. New Mexico, No. 65, Orig., U.S. Sup.).
December 09, 2020
Multiplaintiff, Interstate Or Notable Water Rights Cases

New developments in the following multiplaintiff, interstate or notable water rights cases are marked in boldface type.
December 09, 2020
Environmental Plaintiff Gets $365,804 In Appellate Fees In Endangered Species Case

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 16 trimmed $86,041 from an appeal fee request by a Native American environmental group, awarding it $365,804 against a California water district accused of killing fish by failing to release sufficient water into waterways (Wishtoyo Foundation, et al. v. United Water Conservation District, No. 19-55380, 9th Cir.).
December 09, 2020
Federal Judge Won’t Enjoin Replacement Of Irrigation Canals With Pipeline

EUGENE, Ore. — An Oregon federal judge on Nov. 13 denied issuance of a preliminary injunction to halt the implementation of the Tumalo Irrigation District Modernization Project sought by eight landowners who object to the plan to replace open irrigation ditches with pipes (Matthew James Smith, et al. v. Tumalo Irrigation District, et al., No. 20-345, D. Ore., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 212592).
December 09, 2020
17 States, 2 Cities Seek Summary Judgment In Clean Water Rule Case

SAN FRANCISCO — Seventeen states on Nov. 23 moved for summary judgment against the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers to void their Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of Waters of the United States (the 2020 Rule), saying the rule is based on misinterpretation of U.S. Supreme Court precedent and is arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act (California, et al. v. Andrew Wheeler, et al., No. 20-3005, N.D. Calif.).
December 08, 2020
4 Environmental Groups Sue To Stop California Dam Pending Compliance

MODESTO, Calif. — Four environmental groups on Nov. 20 sued a water district in California state court, saying the district’s environmental approval of a proposed dam violates the state’s California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Pub. Res. Code § 21000 et seq. (Sierra Club, et al. v. Del Puerto Water District, et al., No. CV-20-005193, Calif. Super., Stanislaus Co.).
December 08, 2020
2 Environmental Groups Seek Summary Judgment Against New Clean Water Rule

BALTIMORE — Two environmental groups on Nov. 24 moved for summary judgment against the Trump administration’s 2020 Clean Water Rule, saying the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers misapplied U.S. Supreme Court precedent and violated the Administrative Procedure Act (Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc., et al. v. Andrew R. Wheeler, et al., No. 20-1063, D. Md.).
December 08, 2020
Colorado High Court: Water District’s Application Is Speculative

DENVER — The Colorado Supreme Court on Nov. 23 affirmed denial of an application for conditional water storage rights by a one-acre water and sanitation district, saying the district did not prove that its application did not violate the state’s anti-speculation doctrine and that a purported contract did not show that it would provide water to distant specific customers in any amount (United Water & Sanitation District v. Burlington Ditch Reservoir & Land Co., No. 19SA150, Colo. Sup., 2020 Colo. LEXIS 1036).
December 08, 2020
California Appeals Court Affirms Judgment In Land, Water Access Case

VENTURA, Calif. — A California appeals panel on Nov. 17 affirmed a trial court’s judgment in a land access and water access lawsuit, finding that the appellants failed to demonstrate that the lower court misinterpreted a joint declaration governing three parcels of land awarding breach-of-contract damages to the defendants (Southfork Ranch, LLC, et al. v. David Bunn, et al., No. B279391, Calif. App., Dist. 2, Div. 6, 2020 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 7515).
December 08, 2020
Appeals Court Orders California Judge To Disqualify Himself In Water Rights Case

SAN DIEGO — A California appeals court on Nov. 24 said its remand of a water rights case may be considered a final judgment for purposes of allowing a second peremptory challenge and ordered the trial judge to grant a motion to disqualify himself from the case (Imperial Irrigation District v. Superior Court of Imperial County, No. D078122, Calif. Super., 4th Dist., Div. 1, 2020 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 7762).
December 08, 2020
United States To Court: Defer To EPA, Army Corps On Clean Water Rule Challenge

BOSTON — The United States on Dec. 3 told a Massachusetts federal court that it should grant its cross-motion for summary judgment in a case challenging the current Clean Water Rule by deferring to agency expertise and a lack of improper procedure in promulgating the rule (Conservation Law Foundation, et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al., No. 20-18020, D. Mass.).
November 11, 2020
Texas Seeks Partial Summary Judgment Against Some New Mexico Claims In Water Case

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Texas on Nov. 5 filed a motion with a U.S. Supreme Court special master for partial summary judgment against New Mexico’s counterclaims in the states’ interstate water dispute pending before the court (Texas v. New Mexico, No. 141, Original, U.S. Sup.).
November 10, 2020
Environmentalists Seek Mandate To Stop California Water Bond Pending Compliance

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Five environmental groups on Oct. 27 petitioned a California state court for a writ of mandate and injunctive relief to set aside the state’s Delta water project revenue bond approval until the state complies with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Sierra Club, et al. v. California Department of Water Resources, et al., No. 2020-80003517-CV, Calif. Super., Sacramento Co.).
November 10, 2020
Conservationists: Clean Water Rule Based On Executive Order, Not Scientific Reason

BOSTON — Eight conservation organizations on Oct. 15 filed a motion for summary judgment against the current administration’s Clean Water Rule, saying it is improperly based on a presidential executive order rather than scientific reasoning in contravention of congressional intent and prevailing U.S. Supreme Court case law (Conservation Law Foundation, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, et al., No. 20-10820, D. Mass.).
November 10, 2020
Multiplaintiff, Interstate Or Notable Water Rights Cases

New developments in the following multiplaintiff, interstate or notable water rights cases are marked in boldface type.
November 10, 2020
Oregon, United States, Tribe, Utility Oppose Mandamus In Klamath River Adjudication

SALEM, Ore. — The state of Oregon, the United States, a Native American tribe and an electric utility on Oct. 20 filed briefs opposing a mandamus petition by 45 water rights holders asking the Oregon Supreme Court to direct an adjudication court to comply with state civil and evidentiary law regarding the Klamath River Basin (In Re Waters of the Klamath River Basin, No. S067998, Ore. Sup.).