This year marks the 10th anniversary of a major milestone in California water law history: the enactment of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014. This landmark legislation signaled a critical step toward...more
Lawmakers introduce tools to ease pressure from SGMA and infrastructure demands on public agency revenue powers - Adopted in 1996, Proposition 218 (and later Proposition 26 in 2010) amended the California Constitution to...more
In early November, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case brought by the Navajo Nation that could have far-reaching impacts on tribal water rights in the Colorado River Basin....more
January 2022 was a busy month for the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) issued remaining assessments for groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) for critically...more
On June 23rd, California Coastkeeper Alliance (CCKA) filed the lawsuit California Coastkeeper Alliance v. County of Sonoma (Case No. SCV-268718) in Sonoma County Superior Court. According to CCKA’s website, the suit was filed...more
As the clock slowly ticks forward on California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) deadlines, earlier this month, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) issued its first assessments of groundwater...more
The wait is over for some Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs). The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) released the first Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) assessments for four basins yesterday, June 3,...more
Earlier this month, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) released the draft California’s Groundwater – Update 2020. According to DWR’s website...more
Decision in Protecting Our Water and Environmental Resources v. County of Stanislaus Case - In a long-awaited decision, the California Supreme Court addressed the circumstances under which a public agency may characterize...more
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Postpones Some Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) Deadlines On March 18, 2020, DWR announced the postponement of the following three deadlines under SGMA, in light of...more
New California Law to Help Achieve SGMA Requirements - Assembly Bill 658, signed into law last week, creates new temporary diversion permits allowing for excess surface water capture during high-flow events. Permits...more
Focus - California farmers are planting solar panels as water supplies dry up - Los Angeles Times – July 31 - In the San Joaquin Valley alone, farmers may need to take more than half a million acres out of production to...more
The Department of Water Resources released its draft groundwater basin prioritization for 57 groundwater basins this week. Comments can be submitted on the proposed prioritization for those basins until May 30....more
The Supreme Court of California has granted review of two cases to resolve a split among courts of appeal over whether the issuance of well permits pursuant to state standards is subject to CEQA. California Water Impact...more
In Environmental Law Foundation v. State Water Resources Control Board, the California Court of Appeal for the Third District on August 29, 2018 affirmed a district court’s application of the Public Trust Doctrine to the...more
The Third District Appellate Court recently issued a long-awaited decision in Environmental Law Foundation vs. State Water Resources Control Board (ELF v. SWRCB). The decision confirms the expansive scope of California's...more
On August 29, 2018, the Third Appellate District published its long-awaited opinion in Environmental Law Foundation v. State Water Resources Control Board (“ELF”), a case involving a challenge to Siskiyou County’s (“County”)...more
Join Nossaman attorneys on June 7th for a discussion of groundwater adjudications and litigation alternatives in the era of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (“SGMA”). This webinar, for CLE credit*, will explain...more
Winston Churchill once used the phrase the “soft underbelly of Europe” to attempt to coax the Allies into invading Europe to force Germany to split its resources. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) also has a...more
Join Nossaman attorneys for a webinar to update you about evolving issues related to implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Groundwater sustainability agencies have been formed. The process of...more
Farmers, ranchers and dairy professionals are now identified as being among the beneficial uses and users of groundwater whose interests must be considered under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. This is the result...more
California’s newer groundwater regulatory structure, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (“SGMA”), was signed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. on September 16, 2014. The State Water Resources Control Board...more
Join Nossaman attorneys and policy advisors for a timely discussion of proposed water efficiency laws that are changing the landscape of water resource management. This webinar for CLE credit* will update you on the...more
The State Water Resources Control Board adopted a new fee schedule that will be applied to groundwater pumpers in basins where compliance with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act comes up short. ...more
On March 8, 2017, the State Water Quality Control Board (“SWRCB”) released a draft emergency regulation that would impose new fees on some groundwater extractors. Written comments are due by Friday, April 7, 2017. The...more