On May 23, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a published opinion in Natural Resources Defense Council et al. v. Debra Haaland et al. (Case No. 21-15163) (“NRDC v. Haaland”) rejecting the plaintiffs’ challenges...more
5/30/2024
/ California ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Natural Resources ,
NRDC ,
Rivers ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Water ,
Water Rights ,
Water Supplies
Introduction - On March 15, 2024, the Sacramento County Superior Court found that the State Water Board’s substitute environmental document did not violate the Porter-Cologne Act, the California Environmental Quality Act...more
On November 13, 2023, the Sixth District Court of Appeal issued the first published decision interpreting California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (“SGMA”) in City of Marina et al., v. County of Monterey et al.,...more
On May 22, Arizona, Nevada, and California sent a letter to the Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) that announced their agreement to conserve an additional 3 million acre-feet of Colorado River water...more
On March 21, 2022, the State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board” or “Board”) issued a letter to approximately 20,000 water rights holders warning them curtailment orders are imminent due to continued drought...more
The State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) issued emergency regulations on August 3, 2021, authorizing Board staff to curtail diversions and require informational reporting from water users in the...more
On August 12, 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) (collectively “Services”) jointly announced three rules that...more
On July 21, 2017, the California Department of Water Resources (“DWR”) certified the final environmental document and issued its Notice of Determination for the California WaterFix, a significant new water infrastructure...more
7/26/2017
/ Bureau of Reclamation ,
CEQA ,
Department of Water Resources ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
NEPA ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Water ,
Water Rights ,
Water Supplies ,
WaterFix
On Friday, July 21, 2017, the California Department of Water Resources (“DWR”) certified the Environmental Impact Report for the California WaterFix tunnels project and filed a Notice of Determination with the Governor’s...more
7/24/2017
/ Bureau of Reclamation ,
CEQA ,
Department of Water Resources ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Infrastructure ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
NEPA ,
Notice of Determination (NODs) ,
Petition for Review ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Water ,
Water Rights ,
Water Supplies ,
WaterFix
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) will have lasting implications on water users throughout the State. Downey Brand's water law practice is on the cutting edge of SGMA and groundwater law developments and has...more