The city of Fresno announced this week that Shell USA, Dow Chemical, and other oil and chemical companies have agreed to pay the city $230 million to settle the city’s 2007 lawsuit against them for allegedly contaminating...more
On July 8, 2024, the California Supreme Court issued its opinion in Golden State Water Company v. Public Utilities Commission. The petitioners, California Water Association, California-American Water Company, California Water...more
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
On May 29, 2024, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) posted updated program guidelines along with draft supplemental guidelines for the Garden State Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program. ...more
Like much of the western and southwestern U.S., California has experienced drought conditions on and off for decades. Fortunately, the regulatory landscape is starting to catch up with water treatment technology, paving the...more
The Alberta government has identified, and is taking proactive steps to address, the looming threat of a severe drought this year. As negotiations unfold to secure water-sharing agreements, a cascade of legal and economic...more
In response to critics who said that proposed new statewide water conservation rules — aimed at cutting urban water use even in years when California is not in a drought — were too complicated and costly, the State Water...more
A coalition of conservation groups filed a petition on Tuesday asking the California Fish and Game Commission to protect burrowing owl populations in five parts of the state including parts of the Bay Area and the Central...more
State and federal officials move forward plans and policies for water conservation, conveyance, and climate resilience. The winter of 2022-23 brought historic levels of precipitation to California after years of deep...more
Top water officials for the seven Colorado River Basin states met in December 2023 at the Colorado River Water Users Association conference to resume negotiating a new compromise for how they will share — and cut back on —...more
On December 21, 2023, I published a post on the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management’s DeltaCurrents blog discussing integration of resource optimization into endangered species policy to improve...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday proposed banning the cancer-causing chemical trichloroethylene (TCE), which can be found in consumer products including automobile brake cleaners, furniture care, and...more
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
With California facing a hotter and drier future punctuated by bouts of extreme weather, state officials are moving forward with a new framework for urban water use that could require some suppliers to make cuts of 20% or...more
While demand for new housing in the United States is strong, the ability to meet this demand is hampered by lack of water resources. This is especially true in states experiencing population growth such as Florida and Texas....more
The drought years leading up to 2023 in the western U.S. saw unprecedented drops in storage in places like Lake Mead and Lake Powell when these reservoirs reached record lows. As a result, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation told...more
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
House Bill 1624 (“HB1624”) was introduced amending the Water Resource Conservation and Development Incentives Act (“Act”). The legislation is sponsored by Representative Beaty, Jr., and Senator Gilmore....more
On January 20, 2023, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“MassDEP”) promulgated final revisions to the Water Management Act (“WMA”) regulations at 310 CMR 36.00....more
Overview The Department of the Interior (DOI) recently announced the newly created Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program (the “Program”), funded through the $4 billion pot of money in the...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
The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) recently released a draft updated Colorado Water Plan to be finalized in early 2023 (Draft Plan). The Draft Plan continues to project a water supply gap resulting from hotter and...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
Court of Appeal Strikes Down Minimum 3:1 Ratio Statute for Failure to Comply with Proposition 26 and Provides Guidance on Standard of Review - The California Court of Appeal has ruled that a statute requiring local...more