Mealey's Water Rights
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June 05, 2023
Oregon Irrigation District Appeals State Order Barring Water Releases From Lake
SALEM, Ore. — An Oregon irrigation district has petitioned a state trial court to declare unlawful an order by the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) that prohibits the district from delivering any water stored in its own reservoir to its patrons.
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June 05, 2023
Arizona Tribe, Water Districts Settle Water Quality Case
PHOENIX — An Arizona Native American tribe and two state water districts have stipulated to dismissal of the tribe’s water quality complaint after the parties say they negotiated a settlement.
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June 02, 2023
Due To Shortage, Arizona Pauses Approval Of New Development Using Groundwater
PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on June 1 announced during a press conference that due to a projected groundwater shortfall over the next 100 years, the Arizona Department of Water Resources has been ordered to pause approval of new “assured water determinations” that rely on groundwater.
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June 02, 2023
10th Circuit: Audubon Suit To Enforce Water Right In Wildlife Refuge Is Moot
DENVER — The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with a federal district court that a lawsuit by Audubon of Kansas seeking to force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to enforce a federal water right on a large Kansas wildlife refuge is moot because of a subsequent development in a decades-long dispute with the state and a water district.
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June 01, 2023
Montana Supreme Court Affirms Reversal Of Bottler’s Groundwater Permit
HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Supreme Court affirmed a trial court’s reversal of the approval of a company’s water use permit, agreeing that the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) erred in granting the company’s application.
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May 25, 2023
High Court Adopts Rapanos Definition, Narrows Scope Of Waters Of The United States
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an opinion and three concurring opinions, the U.S. Supreme Court on May 25 adopted the court’s plurality opinion in the 2006 Rapanos case to define the waters of the United States (WOTUS) for purposes of enforcing the Clean Water Act.
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May 12, 2023
6th Circuit Enjoins WOTUS Rule In Kentucky Pending State, Business Appeals
CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has granted a motion by Kentucky and business plaintiffs to enjoin the Biden administration’s waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, saying the plaintiffs have made sufficient general allegations of injury, have shown a reasonable chance of injury to establish standing and are “likely to prevail” in their challenge to the validity of the rule.
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May 09, 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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May 09, 2023
California Groundwater Agency Opposes City’s Suit To Void Allocation Ordinance
LOS ANGELES — A California groundwater management agency is opposing a lawsuit by a city challenging an ordinance allocating groundwater in the Oxnard and Pleasant Valley groundwater basins.
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May 09, 2023
Nevada High Court: Federal Contempt Challenge In State Water Case Is Premature
CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) of a state court order holding the federal agency in contempt of a 1934 water rights adjudication and granting property owners access to a national park to perform maintenance on creeks, saying that because the lower court has reserved a final ruling on terms of an injunction, an appeal “is not proper at this time.”
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May 09, 2023
6th Circuit: WOTUS Rule Stay Applies Only In Kentucky
CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has clarified that its administrative stay of the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule applies only in Kentucky while the court considers an injunction and the merits of the case.
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May 09, 2023
United States, Klamath Water Users Oppose Yurok Tribe’s Injunction Motion
SAN FRANCISCO — Federal government agencies and water users in the Klamath Basin in Oregon and California have filed oppositions to a motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining the federal government’s drought-related management of water in Klamath Lake and the Klamath River.
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May 08, 2023
New Mexico Appeals Court: Res Judicata Dooms Claims In Rio Grande Adjudication
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Court of Appeals has affirmed a trial court decision that claims to water rights in the Lower Rio Grande stream system are barred by the doctrine of res judicata, having been the subject of litigation from 1906 to 2021.
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May 08, 2023
Colorado High Court: State Engineer Can Issue Orders For Feedlot’s Use Of Water
DENVER — A unanimous Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that the state engineer had authority to order a cattle feedlot to comply with the engineer’s orders in regard to the feedlot’s use of irrigation water for cattle watering and to require it to comply with terms that would replace water and protect the water rights of other residents.
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May 05, 2023
Utah Tribe Sues Rancher In Federal Court In Latest Attempt To Enforce Water Rights
SALT LAKE CITY — After having a tribal court judgment in its favor nullified by two federal courts in a trespass and water rights dispute with a rancher, a Utah Indian tribe has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah seeking declaratory relief and damages on claims that also include theft by conversion and nuisance.
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April 19, 2023
Government Responds To Supreme Court Query In Navajo Nation Water Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The federal government does not track how much water the Navajo Nation uses and is not able to determine the tribe’s per capita or total water use, the solicitor general says in a letter to the U.S. Supreme Court in response to a question posed by one of the justices during oral argument in March.
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April 18, 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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April 18, 2023
California Water District Appeals Denial Of Takings Claims Against United States
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A California water district has appealed to the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals the denial of its takings claim against the United States for diverting water for an endangered fish species.
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April 18, 2023
U.S. Supreme Court Review Sought For 9th Circuit Ruling On ESA Water Releases
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three California Central Coast entities have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that the federal government has no discretion to divert water from the Twitchell Dam for the benefit of steelhead fish trying to migrate upstream.
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April 18, 2023
Biden Vetoes Congress’ Nullification Of WOTUS Rule
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joseph R. Biden has vetoed a joint resolution that attempted to nullify the administration’s “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule, saying the rule carefully sets bounds for waters protected by the Clean Water Act and provides “clear rules” to advance infrastructure projects while protecting water quality and public health.
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April 18, 2023
Reduced Colorado River Water Releases Are Alternatives In Interior Impact Statement
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of the Interior has released a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) to potentially revise the operating guidelines for the Glen Canyon and Hoover dams, revisions that could include alternatives to reduced releases from the Glen Canyon Dam.
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April 18, 2023
U.S. High Court Denies Review Of Tribal Water Rights Case Affecting Other Users
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition by two individuals and a landowners’ association to review a federal agreement for tribal reserved water rights that the petitioners say subjects their water rights to federal enforcement.
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April 18, 2023
Kentucky Federal Judge Weighs Injunction For WOTUS Rule After Initial Denial
FRANKFORT, Ky. — A Kentucky federal judge on April 17 took under submission emergency motions by Kentucky and private-sector plaintiffs for an injunction against the current “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule pending the plaintiffs’ appeal of the judge’s March 31 denial of preliminary injunction.
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April 18, 2023
Arizona Municipalities Can’t Enjoin Colorado River Farm-To- Town Water Transfer
PRESCOTT, Ariz. — An Arizona federal judge denied a motion by four municipalities to preliminarily enjoin the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s approval of a partial assignment and transfer of Colorado River water from a farm to a town, saying the plaintiffs are unlikely to succeed on the merits of their claims and are not likely to suffer irreparable harm.
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April 18, 2023
Arizona Federal Judge: 2 Landowners Forfeited Decreed Water Rights By Nonuse
TUCSON, Ariz. — An Arizona federal judge has ruled that two landowners forfeited their decreed rights to Gila River water for not putting the rights to beneficial use for five consecutive years, rejecting arguments that previous floods made the land unsuitable for irrigation and cultivation.