Governor Gavin Newsom is pushing to lay the groundwork for building a $20-billion water tunnel in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta before his term expires, and state water regulators are considering whether to grant a...more
4/28/2025
/ California ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Litigation ,
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Governor Newsom ,
Groundwater ,
Infrastructure ,
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Regulatory Agencies ,
Water Rights
President Donald Trump on Monday issued a memorandum directing the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior to develop a new plan within 90 days “to route more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to...more
1/27/2025
/ California ,
Clean Water Act ,
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Desalination ,
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Wildfires
Traditional sources of freshwater are dwindling as a result of increased demand, reduced natural replenishment, volatile weather patterns, and extended-duration droughts. Desalination, the industrial-scale removal of salt...more
1/16/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Groundwater ,
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Natural Resources ,
Pollution Control ,
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Water ,
Water Conservation ,
Water Quality
California officials have joined a legal effort to restore water to the Kern River after an abrupt shutoff of water dried up the river and killed thousands of fish in Bakersfield....more
10/25/2024
/ Bureau of Land Management ,
California ,
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A judge has temporarily blocked a plan by a California state water board to take over monitoring groundwater use in a portion of the crop-rich San Joaquin Valley, according to a copy of the decision obtained on July 16. Kings...more
7/22/2024
/ California ,
Climate Change ,
Crops ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
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Farm Bureau ,
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Powerful pumps that supply much of California’s population with water have killed several thousand threatened and endangered fish this year, prompting environmental groups to demand that state and federal agencies take...more
4/15/2024
/ Bureau of Reclamation ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Department of the Interior ,
Department of Water Resources ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Farms ,
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The California 2023 Legislative Session ended on September 14, 2023, and presented the Governor with several important changes to California’s water-related statutes. The Governor had until October 14, 2023, to sign all...more
California legislators have passed a bill articulating the scope of the State Water Resources Control Board’s authority to investigate water rights. Senate Bill 389, which will go to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk for a final...more
9/25/2023
/ Crops ,
Drinking Water ,
Drought ,
Farmers ,
Groundwater ,
Recycling ,
Surface Water ,
Tribal Lands ,
Wastewater ,
Water Resources Control Board ,
Water Rights ,
Water Supplies
When ranchers violated an emergency order to stop pumping water from the Shasta River in 2022, state officials fined them $4,000, or roughly $50 each. Now California legislators are weighing a bill that would triple fines for...more
With torrential rains drenching California, state water regulators have endorsed a plan to divert floodwaters from the San Joaquin River to replenish groundwater that has been depleted by heavy agricultural pumping during...more
On Monday, September 12, 2022, a California Court of Appeal upheld a decision that the State Water Resources Control Board (the “Board”) lacks jurisdictional authority to issue curtailment notices to pre-1914 appropriative...more
California legislators reject bill to curb agricultural groundwater pumping -
The Bakersfield Californian – September 4 -
California lawmakers have rejected proposed legislation seeking to rein in agricultural...more
As severe drought conditions continue across the western U.S., Allen Matkins will begin publishing a quarterly newsletter focused on recent legal, regulatory, and policy issues impacting water users and suppliers in...more
6/20/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
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THE DROUGHT CRISIS - 2021 was the driest year California has experienced in a century. At the end of the water year, spanning October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021, the State received only 11.87 inches of precipitation,...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