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Mealey's Water Rights

February 07, 2023
Tribe, U.S., Water Users Stipulate To Wait For ESA Ruling In Other Case

MEDFORD, Ore. — Parties in an Oregon federal lawsuit over endangered species and the federal operation of the Klamath Dam project have stipulated to exclude parallel issues they say are already being litigated in another case in California federal court.
February 06, 2023
United States: Texas, New Mexico, Colorado Water Decree Would Impose Obligations

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The United States has told a U.S. Supreme Court special master that he should rejected a proposed consent decree settling an interstate water dispute among Texas, New Mexico and Colorado because it would impose obligations on the United States.
February 06, 2023
After New WOTUS Rule, Sacketts Tell High Court To Look At Quote From 1977 Debate

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Responding to a newly published definition of “waters of the United States (WOTUS)” that directly affects their pending U.S. Supreme Court case, Michael and Chantelle Sackett have told the high court in a letter that it should consider a 1977 congressional statement about how the Clean Water Act should interpret adjacent wetlands, the key issue in their appeal.
February 06, 2023
Denial Of Contempt Reconsideration Isn’t Appealable In Neighbors’ Water Dispute

SAN FRANCISCO — A California state appeals panel dismissed an appeal of a contempt ruling in a dispute involving the right of property owners to receive water from a neighboring property.
February 06, 2023
9th Circuit Won’t Rehear Case Where It Found Tribes Required In Water Project Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has denied motions by several California irrigation districts and irrigation users to rehear arguments challenging federal operation of the Klamath Project or for an en banc rehearing.
February 06, 2023
14 Business Groups File Complaint Against Revised WOTUS Rule

GALVESTON, Texas — Fourteen business associations have sued the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in a Texas federal court seeking a declaration that the “Revised Definition of the Waters of the United States” rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the Clean Water Act and the U.S. Constitution.
February 03, 2023
Government Failing In Its Duty To Navajo Nation, Tribe Tells Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States is breaking the promise it made to the Navajo Nation more than 150 years ago for “a permanent homeland in their ancestral territory, with sufficient water to fulfill the Reservation’s purposes,” constituting a breach of the government’s trust obligations to the tribe, the Nation tells the U.S. Supreme Court in a brief on the merits.
February 02, 2023
Water District’s Takings Claim Not Ripe For Adjudication, Claims Judge Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A judge in the Federal Claims Court says a conservation district’s lawsuit against the United States for water diversion restrictions to benefit an endangered species is not one of physical taking but of regulatory taking and that because the district hasn’t finished its regulatory process for an incidental-take permit, its claim is not yet ripe for adjudication.
January 27, 2023
Arizona Judge Won’t Stay City Decision To Shut Off Water Pipe Used By Suburb

PHOENIX — An Arizona state court judge has denied a motion by residents of suburban Scottsdale, Ariz., to enter a stay against the city’s Jan. 1 decision to cut off the flow of water to a standpipe that supplies carry-away water to the suburbanites, saying the city was not providing a utility service protected by state law and that the city’s action, while creating a hardship, will not cause irreparable harm because the plaintiffs have other water options.
January 25, 2023
Suit Challenging Trump-Era Clean Water Rule Dropped After New Biden Rule Published

SEATTLE — Three environmental groups’ and one grassroots group’s challenge of two Trump administration rules related to defining the “waters of the United States” have been dismissed by stipulation, apparently in response to a new rule published Jan. 18 by the Biden administration.
January 20, 2023
Arizona City Sued After Cutting Off Its Water To Neighboring Suburb

PHOENIX — More than 40 Arizona couples and individuals have sued the city of Scottsdale, Ariz., seeking an order forcing the city to continue to provide domestic water service after the city followed through on a 2021 warning that it would do so because of drought conditions and the city’s water needs.
January 19, 2023
Texas Files Suit Opposing New Clean Water Rule On Same Day Rule Is Published

GALVESTON, Texas — On the day the federal government published its revised definition of waters of the United States, Texas on Jan. 18 filed a complaint saying the new rule expands regulation authorized by the Clean Water Act, erodes states’ authority over their own water, interferes with state programs and undermines state sovereignty under the U.S. Constitution.
January 19, 2023
EPA, Army Corps Publish New Definition Of ‘Waters Of The United States’

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The “Revised Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’” was published Jan. 18 in the Federal Register.
January 11, 2023
Arizona Appeals Court Asked To Reverse Eminent Domain That Includes Water Contract

PHOENIX — An Arizona developer tells an Arizona appellate court that a state district court erred in finding that its property rights, including water a water service contract, were not taken and that the developer is not entitled to just compensation under the state and federal constitutions.
January 11, 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.
January 10, 2023
New Clean Water Rule Finalized; EPA, Army Corps Notify Supreme Court

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have notified the U.S. Supreme Court and various federal district courts that the agencies have finalized a rule “establishing a durable definition of ‘waters of the United States’ (WOTUS),” a development that prompted Colorado to dismiss its lawsuit against the Trump administration’s version of the rule and one that the federal government hopes will influence a pending Supreme Court ruling attempting to define how the EPA enforces the Clean Water Act.
January 10, 2023
New Mexico Appeals Court: Impaired Water Rights Ruling, Costs Award Were Correct

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico appeals court panel has affirmed a trial court decision that a multicounty development was likely to impair existing water rights and that residents and entities that opposed a water allocation application were entitled to costs.
January 09, 2023
Supreme Court Special Master Denies U.S. Motion To Strike Tri-State Water Decree

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A U.S. Supreme Court special master has denied a motion by the United States to strike a proposed consent decree reached by Texas, New Mexico and Colorado on measuring the use of Rio Grande water and denied a motion by the federal government to keep the agreement under seal.
January 09, 2023
Environmentalists Lose In Case Alleging Fish Take From Water District’s Dam

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a motion by four environmental groups to issue a temporary restraining order against a water district for allegedly “taking” fish through its operation of a dam and migrating fish ladder and denied their motion to remand their case to state court, noting that many of the issues are subject to the court’s continuing jurisdiction in a previous federal case.
January 06, 2023
California Appeals Court Affirms Writ Denial In Ventura Water Projects Case

LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court affirmed a trial court’s denial of a petition for a writ of administrative mandate in which an environmental group claimed that a city’s water projects violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
December 22, 2022
DOI Says It’s Not Obligated To Provide Navajo Nation With Colorado River Water

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States’ trust relationship with the Navajo Nation does not require the federal government to oversee the tribe’s right to use water from the Lower Colorado River, the Department of the Interior (DOI) says in its opening brief on the merits in the U.S. Supreme Court.
December 06, 2022
Tribe, Water Districts Seek Extended Stay Pending Mediated Settlement

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A Native American tribe and two water districts have asked a California federal judge to extend for three months his stay of their water rights case because they believe that private mediation can result in a settlement.
December 06, 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.
December 06, 2022
Water Takings Suit Remanded To Oregon State Court As Untimely Removed

MEDFORD, Ore. — An Oregon federal judge has granted a motion by Oregon to remand to state court a complaint that tribal water rights result in the uncompensated taking of a ranch’s property.
December 06, 2022
United States, Utah, Water District Seek Dismissal Of Tribe’s Water Rights Claims

SALT LAKE CITY — The United States, the state of Utah and a Utah water district have filed briefs asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah to dismiss in whole or in part a lawsuit brought by a Native American tribe alleging a breach of duty to provide water and water rights since the creation of the reservation in the 1900s and through several water projects and water agreements.