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
In an order filed Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle denied a private property owner’s effort to enjoin the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers from enforcing their September 2023...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today designated two types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have been used in cookware, carpets, and firefighting foams as hazardous substances, an action...more
In a new study, researchers from NYU, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Defend Our Health have estimated the costs of plastic exposure on the U.S. healthcare system. In 2018, several common endocrine disruptors, a...more
A San Jerardo cooperative in the Salinas area, together with environmental organizations, have sued the state, demanding stricter rules to govern the amount of fertilizer farmers can use. They allege that nitrate...more
If there is one truism in California water, it is that there is not enough of it. In part to try to help address that issue, on December 19, 2023, the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) adopted...more
The California 2023 Legislative Session ended on September 14, 2023 and presented Governor Gavin Newsom with several important changes to California’s water-related statutes. Newsom had until October 14, 2023 to sign all...more
On October 8, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 389 (“SB 389”), which amended § 1051 of the Water Code to expand the investigatory authority of the State Water Resources Control Board (“Water Board”)....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
Governor Gavin Newsom signed more than a dozen significant environmental bills over the weekend, including a first-in-the-nation law requiring corporations doing business in California with more than $1 billion a year in...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that it would investigate the California State Water Resources Control Board (Board) after some Native American tribes and environmental groups complained the...more
The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) is accepting public comment through July 28 on new recommendations to expedite permits for seawater desalination plants in the state....more
The court of appeal held that, in an action against the State Water Resources Control Board and regional water quality control boards for violations of the State Board’s Nonpoint Source (NPS) Policy and the public trust...more
If you were unable to attend our recent webinar “Flood or Drought? A Discussion of the Election’s Potential Legislative Impacts on the Water Sector”, please check out the several key take-aways from the presentation...more
The State of California recently sent a 60-day notice of intent to sue to the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior and concurrently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California...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
This complimentary 60-minute webinar is focused on the State Water Resources Control Board's recently adopted State Wetlands Definition and Procedures for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Material to Waters of the State, with a...more
On January 3, 2019, the California State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) released a draft version of its long-awaited report to the California State Legislature on the feasibility of a statewide program to...more
On Thursday, May 17th, the California Legislature took a big step forward on the path towards making conservation a California way of life by passing two key bills – Senate Bill 606 and Assembly Bill 1668 – that, together,...more
With the release of California’s budget trailer bill came proposed new legislation that would add an Administrative Hearing Office within the State Water Resources Control Board....more
The State Water Resources Control Board exceeded its jurisdictional authority under Water Code section 1052 when it issued curtailment notices to pre-1914 and riparian water rights holders, a Santa Clara County Superior Court...more
California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed AB 313, which would have shifted the hearing process for certain water rights enforcement actions to a new Water Rights Division within the Office of Administrative Hearings. However, his...more
You open your mailbox. There’s your monthly water bill. Inside, you notice it’s gone up nearly $500—but your use hasn’t changed. How could this be? And maybe more important, can you afford it? This is an essential...more
The State Water Resources Control Board recently adopted an amendment to all Domestic Water Supply Permits it issues to public water systems that supply drinking water. The amendment requires domestic water suppliers for...more
The State Water Resources Control Board released this week a formal proposal to extend the emergency statewide drought regulations that have been in effect for California in various forms since early 2015. Cities, counties,...more