Mealey's Water Rights
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September 02, 2022
Klamath Project MDL Faces Unanimous Opposition; Movant Cites 2 Other Water MDLs
WASHINGTON, D.C. — While all responding parties on Aug. 24 opposed centralization of seven federal lawsuits involving the United States’ management of water in the Klamath Project in Oregon, the moving Klamath Irrigation District (KID) on Aug. 31 told the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) that the panel faced the same issues in 2007 and 2003 when it created two MDLs related to federal operation of water systems in Georgia and Missouri.
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August 26, 2022
Judge Kulkarni Appointed To Preside Over California’s Water Curtailment Docket
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Judge Sunil R. Kulkarni of the Santa Clara County Superior Court was assigned Aug. 16 to preside over California’s state water curtailment Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding (JCCP).
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August 22, 2022
Oregon Irrigation District Wants 7 Klamath River Suits Centralized In An MDL
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) on Aug. 11 said it will hear arguments on Sept. 29 on a motion by an Oregon irrigation district to centralize seven federal lawsuits involving the management of water in the Klamath Project that serves Native American tribes, farmers and fishermen in Oregon and Northern California.
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August 09, 2022
EPA Tells 6th Circuit That States’ Appeal Of 2015 Clean Water Rule Is Moot
CINCINNATI — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on July 28 told the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that it should affirm a district court ruling that the 2015 Clean Water Rule is moot.
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August 09, 2022
Klamath Water Users Ask Court To ‘Dig In’ And Find ESA Is Hurting Water Users
SAN FRANCISCO — The Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA or the Klamath Users) on July 29 opposed a summary judgment motion by the United States, a Native American tribe and two fishing plaintiffs and filed a cross-motion for summary judgment asking a California federal court to “dig in” and find that the Bureau of Reclamation’s “adherence” to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is hurting water users in the Klamath River Basin.
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August 09, 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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August 09, 2022
California Water District Withdraws TRO Motion In Water Curtailment Case
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s Byron-Bethany Irrigation District (BBID) on July 26 withdrew is application for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and a show-cause order against the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) curtailment of the district’s water rights.
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August 09, 2022
Federal, Oregon Agencies Oppose Klamath District’s 9th Circuit Mandamus Case
SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) on Aug. 2 filed oppositions in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to a petition by the Klamath Irrigation District (KID) for a mandamus order to remand the underlying case to a state court adjudicating the federal agency’s operation of the Klamath project.
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August 09, 2022
Judge Denies Dismissal Of Public Trust Claim In Walker River Water Claim
RENO, Nev. — A Nevada federal judge on Aug. 5 denied a motion by 10 “principal defendants” to dismiss a county’s amended complaint that asserts a public trust claim in a 100-year-old water apportionment case involving the Walker River in California and Nevada.
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August 09, 2022
New Mexico Federal Judge: Does State Ruling Bar Navajo Water Project Suit?
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico federal judge on July 29 ordered parties to explain whether a declaratory judgment complaint involving the Navajo Dam and the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project is barred by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling disallowing the use of federal courts to appeal state court appellate rulings.
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August 04, 2022
9th Circuit Dismisses Appeal Of Judgment In Washington Tribal Water Rights Case
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 3 dismissed an appeal of a modified tribal water judgment, finding that objectors cannot claim a redressable injury.
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July 26, 2022
Government Urges Supreme Court To Review Navajo Nation Water Rights Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The federal government on July 15 filed a U.S. Supreme Court petition for certiorari and a memorandum in a related high court case saying the court needs to decide if the United States has a fiduciary duty to provide water for the Navajo Nation from the Colorado River.
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July 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.
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July 12, 2022
California Coordinates 7 Suits Challenging State Board’s Water Curtailment Order
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Seven lawsuits filed by California water districts against the State Water Resources Board (SWRB) over the board’s 2021 water curtailment orders were ordered June 15 to be coordinated in the Santa Clara County Superior Court.
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July 12, 2022
Court Dismisses Tribe’s Water Case Saying 38-Year Stay Serves No Purpose
PHOENIX — An Arizona federal judge on June 7 dismissed without prejudice a 43-year-old case by a Native American tribe against Arizona, saying that after a 38-year stay to allow for a water adjudication in Arizona, it serves no purpose to keep the federal case open.
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July 12, 2022
Texas High Court: State Courts, Not TCEQ, Adjudicate Surface Water Rights
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court on May 20 ruled that state courts and not the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) have authority to adjudicate conflicting claims to ownership of surface-water rights.
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July 12, 2022
California Appeals Court: County Too Late In CEQA Challenge Of Land, Water Leases
SAN FRANCISCO — A California state appeals court on June 30 reversed a trial court ruling that the city of Los Angeles failed to conduct a review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for changes to lease and water terms in city-owned land in Mono County, saying that under the statute of limitations for the state environmental law, Mono County filed a challenge too late.
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July 12, 2022
Montana High Court Says Groundwater Right Statement Of Claim Was Untimely
HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Supreme Court on June 21 said a couple’s statement of claim for their groundwater right was untimely filed, leaving their water right valid but subordinate to other adjudicated water rights.
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July 12, 2022
Crow Tribe Members Sue Interior Department Over Water Rights Settlement Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Six members of the Crow tribe on June 21 sued the U.S. Department of the Interior, alleging that the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 improperly seeks to take their water rights without due process or just compensation.
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July 12, 2022
Divided Nevada High Court: Prior Appropriation Rights Must Yield To Water Plan
CARSON CITY, Nev. — In a 4-3 ruling a majority said “will significantly affect water management in Nevada,” the Nevada Supreme Court on June 16 ruled that two state water laws allow the state engineer to depart from the doctrine of prior appropriation and other statutes in approving a groundwater management plan (GMP) in a critical water management area even if it affects senior water right holders.
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July 07, 2022
Montana Supreme Court Affirms That Water Right Wasn’t Perfected By 1973
HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Supreme Court on July 5 affirmed a state Water Court dismissal of a water claim, agreeing that the claimant had not established his claimed existing water right.
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July 07, 2022
Texas-New Mexico Interstate Water Trial On Hold With Settlement In Principle
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A U.S. Supreme Court special master on July 5 continued the Oct. 3 trial of the interstate water dispute between Texas on one side and New Mexico and Colorado on the other after the parties on June 24 told him that they agreed to a settlement in principle.
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July 07, 2022
24 Plaintiffs Appeal Claim Court’s Denial Of Water Contract Claims
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Twenty-four plaintiffs on July 5 filed a notice in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that they are appealing to the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a June 6 ruling that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation breached water contracts in 2014 by prioritizing water deliveries to certain contractors instead of the plaintiffs.
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June 30, 2022
High Court Will Hear Arguments On Clean Water Act Definition Of Wetlands On Oct. 3
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 14 set Oct. 3 as the date for oral argument in a case brought by Idaho landowners against the Environmental Protection Agency to determine the definition of “wetlands” for the purposes of enforcing the Clean Water Act (CWA) after the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals adopted a concurring opinion from the high court’s previous decision on the issue.
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June 09, 2022
Federal Claims Court: United States Didn’t Breach Water Contracts During Drought
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A judge in the U.S. Federal Claims Court on June 6 granted summary judgment to the United States against claims by a California city and 17 irrigation districts that the Bureau of Reclamation breached water contracts in 2014 by prioritizing water deliveries to certain contractors instead of the plaintiffs.