Mealey's Water Rights
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October 27, 2022
10th Circuit: Onerous Water Contingencies Free Developer From Federal Requirement
DENVER — The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has said that although a federal water loan would require a developer to use the borrowing water provider, conditions imposed by the provider are so onerous as to make water service effectively unavailable from the provider.
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October 11, 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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October 11, 2022
California’s Abatti Family Sues Water District Over Newest Distribution Plan
SAN DIEGO — Fourteen months after a similar state court lawsuit died in the U.S. Supreme Court, California farmer Michael Abatti and his family have filed a federal lawsuit against the Imperial Irrigation District, alleging that the district’s latest equitable distribution plan (EDP) for irrigation water from the Colorado River is unconstitutional, is contrary to U.S. Supreme Court precedent and is contrary to the water district’s representations about farmer’s water rights.
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October 10, 2022
New Mexico Federal Judge: U.S., New Mexico, Navajos Immune From Water Lawsuit
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico federal judge has granted motions by the United States, New Mexico and the Navajo Nation to dismiss a lawsuit by New Mexico residents that sought to counter a state court adjudication ruling involving Native American water rights in the state.
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October 10, 2022
Judge OKs Federal Motion To Remand Rights Of Way For Private Water Pipeline
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California federal judge granted a motion by the U.S. Department of the Interior to remand the agency’s 2020 decision to approve the use of an old natural gas pipeline to transport water across federal land, saying the government has a right to change its mind and reexamine the application.
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October 10, 2022
6th Circuit Puts Clean Water Rule Case In Abeyance Until Sackett High Court Ruling
CINCINNATI — Acting sua sponte, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said it will hold in abeyance an appeal of the 2015 Clean Water Rule pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA.
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October 07, 2022
9th Circuit: California Dam Operators Can Release Water To Help Endangered Trout
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals says the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Santa Maria Water District have discretion to manage and operate California’s Twitchell Dam for the purpose of preventing the take (killing) of endangered Southern California steelhead trout.
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October 07, 2022
Hawaii Supreme Court: County Must Reanalyze Impact Of Water Pipeline On Usage
HONOLULU — The Hawaii Supreme Court said a county water department did not properly analyze the impact of water withdrawals that might be caused by a proposed water pipeline and reversed an environment court’s denial of a challenge by a community group and remanded the case for a new environmental assessment.
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October 06, 2022
New Mexico High Court: Groundwater Right Lost Due To Partial Nonuse
SANTA FE, N.M. — The New Mexico Supreme Court has affirmed lower court rulings and an administrative ruling that partial use of a groundwater right results in partial loss of that right.
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October 06, 2022
Navajo Nation Says Cert Not Warranted In Dispute Over Tribe’s Water Rights
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals correctly held that the United States has a fiduciary duty to provide water for the Navajo Nation from the Colorado River, so the U.S. Supreme Court should deny petitions for review from several states and the federal government, the tribe says in its opposition to the petitions.
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October 06, 2022
No Settlement In Texas-New Mexico-Colorado Water Case; Special Master Sets Hearing
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The U.S. Supreme Court special master overseeing the interstate water dispute among Texas, New Mexico and Colorado has scheduled a status conference for Oct. 25 after the parties in September told the court they hadn’t reached a settlement and that a trial date should be set.
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October 05, 2022
Judicial Panel Denies MDL For 7 Federal Klamath River Basin Water Allocation Cases
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) on Oct. 4 denied a motion to centralize seven federal lawsuits involving the allocation of water from the Klamath Project southern Oregon and northern California, saying that there are “striking” differences among the cases, that most cases will be decided on legal questions, that about half the cases are paused and that summary judgment rulings are imminent in some.
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October 03, 2022
In Wetlands Definition Case, Justice Kagan Asks If There’s A 3rd Option
WASHINGTON, D.C. — While a lawyer for an Idaho landowner told the U.S. Supreme Court that it should adopt a new, two-part test for whether wetlands are “waters of the United States” and a U.S. deputy solicitor general said the court should stick with its “significant nexus” test, Justice Elena Kagan at oral argument on Oct. 3 questioned whether there might be a third option
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September 28, 2022
California Appeals Court: Well Users’ Suits Against Planned Wells Is Speculative
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California state appellate court affirmed the dismissal without leave to amend two lawsuits by landowners who sought a declaratory judgment that they had overlying rights to pump groundwater that have priority over wells planned by the city of Lincoln, Calif., for several large subdivisions, saying the complaints are not ripe for adjudication.
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September 14, 2022
California Appeals Court: State Water Board Can’t Curtail Pre-1914 Water Rights
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California state appeals court on Sept. 12 ruled that the state water code does not authorize the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to curtail water diversions by holders of pre-1914 water rights during time of drought.
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September 09, 2022
9th Circuit: Klamath Water Case Requires Tribes, But They Have Sovereign Immunity
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 8 affirmed dismissal of a declaratory action by Klamath Project water users because two tribes are required parties but cannot be joined because of their sovereign immunity.
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September 07, 2022
Ohio, Tennessee Tell 6th Circuit 2015 Clean Water Rule Needs To Be Extinguished
CINCINNATI — Ohio and Tennessee on Aug. 11 told the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that “there remains a ‘fair prospect’ that the 2015 Clean Water Rule, Definition of ‘Waters of the United States,’ will again take effect” in their states absent a district court ruling invalidating the rule.
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September 07, 2022
3 California Water Districts Seek To Enjoin State’s Delta Water Curtailment Orders
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Three California water districts on Aug. 19 filed a petition for a writ of mandate seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) for issuing and renewing water curtailment orders.
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September 07, 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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September 07, 2022
Idaho Lawmakers Allowed To Intervene In Federal Water Forfeiture Case
BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho federal judge on Sept. 2 allowed the Idaho Legislature to intervene in a lawsuit in which the United States seeks a declaration that the state cannot declare that the federal government forfeited its water rights on federal lands.
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September 06, 2022
Ute Tribe Appeals Dismissal Of Federal Claims Court Water Rights Action
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Native American tribe on Aug. 30 told the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that the Federal Claims Court erred in ruling that the United States had no trust duties to protect the tribe’s water rights on its Utah reservation.
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September 06, 2022
Ute Tribe OK’d To File Amended Complaint About Its Federal Water Rights
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah federal magistrate judge on Aug. 22 issued an opinion allowing the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation to file a third amended complaint against the United States and Utah for allegedly discriminating against the tribe’s water rights.
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September 06, 2022
Texas/New Mexico/Colorado High Court Water Case To Settle Or Face Trial Sept. 27
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A U.S. Supreme Court special master on Aug. 26 scheduled a Sept. 27 status conference during which Texas, New Mexico and Colorado are to address whether they have settled their nine-year-old interstate water dispute or if a trial will take place next year.
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September 06, 2022
New Mexico Appeals Court Reverses Collateral Estoppel Against Water Permit
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Court of Appeals on Aug. 11 said a trial court erred in determining that collateral estoppel applies to its review of a 2014 application for appropriation of underground water and remanded for a determination of the merits.
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September 06, 2022
Colorado Appeals Court Affirms County’s Denial Of Water Pipeline Permit
DENVER — The commissioners of a Colorado county exceeded their regulatory powers in denying a permit application for a water pipeline, but the Colorado Court of Appeals on Sept. 1 still affirmed the denial on other grounds.