Mealey's Water Rights
-
December 05, 2022
California State Judge Denies Challenges To Amended Delta Plan; It’s Not WaterFix
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California state trial court has denied petitions for writs of mandate contesting the legality of two amendments to the Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Plan (the Delta Plan), repeatedly refuting allegations that the Delta Plan is an attempt to revive the controversial and now-abandoned WaterFix project.
-
December 05, 2022
6 New Mexico Residents Appeal Dismissal Of Challenge To State Water Adjudication
DENVER — Six New Mexico residents are appealing to the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a federal court’s dismissal of their lawsuit seeking to counter a state court adjudication ruling involving Native American water rights in the state.
-
December 05, 2022
California Appeals Court: Water District Properly Denied Selling Surplus Water
LOS ANGELES — The Second District California Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court’s denial of a writ of mandate ordering an irrigation district to sell surplus water to an out-of-district user, saying the appellants failed to show that the district had an obligation to sell the water or that its refusal to do so was arbitrary and capricious.
-
December 05, 2022
California Appeals Court OKs Attorney Fees In 2015 Water Curtailment Cases
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Sixth District California Court of Appeal has reversed a trial court’s denial of motions by six water districts to recover attorney fees for their superior court challenge of the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) curtailment of water rights during a drought but affirmed denial of legal expenses for an administrative hearing preceding litigation in state court.
-
December 05, 2022
Texas, New Mexico, Colorado Ask Supreme Court To OK Rio Grande Water Settlement
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Texas, New Mexico and Colorado have asked a U.S. Supreme Court special master to enter a consent decree settling their water claims under the Rio Grande Compact and over the objection of the United States, which moved to strike the proposed agreement.
-
December 01, 2022
10th Circuit Affirms Water Loan False Claims Suit Is Time-Barred, ‘Vexatious’
DENVER — The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a false claims lawsuit against a water district and other defendants, agreeing that the relator filed his action beyond the applicable 10-year statute of repose and that the lower court did not err in awarding defendants attorney fees and costs because the whistleblower lawsuit was vexatious and intended to harass the defendants.
-
November 09, 2022
California Threatens To Fine Water Association $4,000 For Drought Violation
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has issued an administrative civil liability complaint against the Shasta River Water Association for allegedly violating state drought restrictions and diverting water for irrigation and endangering fish.
-
November 09, 2022
Oregon Appeals Court Hears Arguments On Denial Of Dam Permit
SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Court of Appeals has heard arguments on whether the Oregon Water Resources Commission and Oregon Water Resources Department erred when they denied a permit for a new dam after the project received was approved in a three-step process over six years.
-
November 08, 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.
-
November 08, 2022
United States: Deny Idaho Ranchers’ Intervention In Water Rights Forfeiture Case
BOSIE, Idaho — The United States says an Idaho federal court should deny a motion by ranching interests to intervene in the federal government’s lawsuit against Idaho for the state’s attempt to legislatively rule that the government has forfeited its water rights, saying the intervenors have no protectable interest and are located at least 65 miles from any federal land at issue.
-
November 07, 2022
Oregon Seeks Remand Of Ranch Complaint Alleging Tribe’s Rights Took Its Water
MEDFORD, Ore. — After removing a complaint claiming that tribal water rights result in the uncompensated taking of a ranch’s property, the state of Oregon reversed course and moved to remand the case from federal to state court due to a dispute over whether removal took place within the specified time range.
-
November 07, 2022
Judge: Farm’s Suit Against Wetlands Projects Barred By Federal Tort Claims Act
SPOKANE, Wash. — A Washington federal judge has held that a farm’s lawsuit that federal wetland conservation projects and their alleged impairment of senior water rights and crop production are exempted from tort liability under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).
-
November 07, 2022
Colorado Ski Resort Sues Forest Service To Quiet Title To Water Rights
DENVER — A Colorado ski resort sued the U.S. Forest Service in federal court to quite its title to water rights in a watershed, to obtain an easement to exercise its water rights through a national forest and for declaration that it has rights in the watershed.
-
November 07, 2022
4 Years Later, Parties In Gila River Groundwater Case Still Not Talking Settlement
TUCSON, Ariz. — Parties in a lawsuit by a Native American tribe alleging that six individuals are using groundwater from the Gila River in Arizona without authorization tell a federal court that they continue to not be engaged in settlement discussions.
-
November 04, 2022
Supreme Court Grants Certiorari For Navajo Water Rights Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 4 granted two petitions for certiorari seeking a determination on whether the United States’ trust relationship with the Navajo Nation requires it to oversee the tribe’s right to use water from the Colorado River.
-
November 04, 2022
California Appeals Court: Environmental Report Shows Enough Groundwater For Plan
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California appeals panel affirmed a trial court’s ruling that an environmental impact report (EIR) on a proposed large development in northern California supported a conclusion that a subbasin under the project is likely to continue to be a sustainable groundwater source for a nearby city and for other projects.
-
October 27, 2022
Supreme Court Master Stays Interstate Water Case Trial After Settlement Reached
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A U.S. Supreme Court special master on Oct. 27 postponed a trial in an interstate water dispute between Texas and New Mexico and Colorado and told the parties to file a motion to adopt a proposed settlement by Nov. 14.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.