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Water Rights Natural Resources

Downey Brand LLP

Ninth Circuit Hands Major Victory to Senior Water Right Holders on the Sacramento River

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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

Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP

Latest U.S. Supreme Court Decision a Setback for Native Tribes and Their Rights

In a highly unwelcome decision for Native tribes relying on treaties with the U.S. government, the U.S. Supreme Court held recently that the government’s general trust obligation to Navajo Nation does not require the federal...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Sustainable Water Investment Summit Takeaways: Water Rights, Scarcity and Opportunities

Last week, leaders from a range of industries convened for two days in Los Angeles for Brownstein and WestWater’s inaugural Sustainable Water Investment Summit....more

Nossaman LLP

Metropolitan Water District Announces Required Water Reductions Affecting up to Six Million Californians

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At a board meeting on April 26, 2022, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (“the Met”) announced it would be requiring reductions in water usage from retail water suppliers that are dependent on water from...more

Nossaman LLP

How Can Science Help the Voluntary Agreements Succeed?

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Recently, I authored a post for DeltaCurrents, the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management's blog. The focus of the piece is on the ways in which science can play a role in the success of the so-called...more

Troutman Pepper

Equitable Apportionment of Interstate Waters Sinks to New Levels

Troutman Pepper on

In a landmark ruling signaling a new lens with which to view the treatment of interstate water allocation, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on November 22 in Mississippi v. Tennessee, et al., 595 U.S. ___ (Case No....more

Pillsbury - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real...

In Review: SCOTUS Environmental and Administrative Decisions in the 2020 Term

Several decisions of interest were issued in the 2020 term, which stretched from October 2020 until early July 2021. This review will concentrate on environmental and administrative law cases....more

Beveridge & Diamond PC

The Clock is Ticking for Water Users in the Nooksack Basin to Settle their Disputes

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Now that Washington’s 2021–2022 budget bill has become law, there is increased pressure on water users in the Nooksack basin to settle their disputes before the state steps in and files an adjudication. Washington’s 2021–2022...more

K&L Gates LLP

Update: Interstate Water Rights Before the Supreme Court - Mississippi v. Tennessee

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In August 2020 we previewed four notable interstate water rights cases that would soon be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The case of Mississippi v. Tennessee is now one step closer to a decision. On 5 November, 2020, the...more

K&L Gates LLP

Supreme Court's 2020–2021 Preview: Interstate Water Rights

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As climate change accelerates, clashes between states over water rights are heating up due to this resulting strained resource. The only court with authority to adjudicate these interstate disputes is the U.S. Supreme Court....more

Nossaman LLP

Klamath Dam Removal Now in Question

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Over the past decade, proponents of an effort to remove four dams on the lower Klamath River have hit a series of roadblocks.  The most recent came on July 16, 2020, when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted...more

Snell & Wilmer

Utah Division of Water Rights Announces New Tool to Track Status of Change Applications

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On June 22, 2020, the Utah Division of Water Rights (also referred to as the State Engineer’s Office) released a new tool to assist with tracking permanent water right change applications. Change applications propose...more

Nossaman LLP

Paul Weiland Discusses Western Dam Removal at California Water Law Symposium

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Paul Weiland recently participated in the 2020 California Water Law Symposium, held at San Francisco's Golden Gate University School of Law. The theme of this year's Symposium was "Federalism & Water: Shifts in State/Federal...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

Groundwater Rights Jury Finds In Favor Of Public Water Suppliers - BB&K Team Successfully Defends City In First-Of-Its-Kind Trial...

Best Best & Krieger LLP, representing the City of Paso Robles, successfully defended the City in a jury trial that found the water suppliers had acquired prescriptive groundwater rights to the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin...more

Nossaman LLP

Proponents Of Dam Removal Project Seek To Skirt Protections For Endangered Species

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The Klamath River Renewal Corporation (the “corporation”) recently submitted a plan for the removal of four dams on the lower Klamath River to the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC). ...more

Nossaman LLP

California Poised to Waive Protections for Endangered Fish as Tribes Seek to Shutdown Klamath Irrigation Project in an Effort to...

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In late May 2018, the Klamath Tribes filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California seeking to shut down the Bureau of Reclamation’s Klamath Irrigation Project, which supplies...more

Snell & Wilmer

U.S. Supreme Court Considering Case with Major Implications for Western Water Rights

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Several months ago, an earlier post in this blog described a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that recognized a federal reserved water right to groundwater [see Ninth Circuit Holds that Federal Reserved Water...more

Pierce Atwood LLP

Island Means Island: Pierce Atwood Successfully Defends Against Tribal Claim to Control State Waters

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In 1980, the State of Maine, Congress, and Maine tribes entered into Settlement Acts to resolve claims that the tribes owned two-thirds of the State. In return for, among other things, federal recognition and money, the...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

Ninth Circuit Requires Evidence of No Injury, Recognizes Forfeiture of Pre-1919 Arizona Water Rights

A recent ruling from the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals underscores the importance of beneficially using water, as currently recognized in California, to maintain state water rights. On June 13, a three-judge panel...more

Snell & Wilmer

Ninth Circuit Holds that Federal Reserved Water Rights Extend to Groundwater

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On March 7, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Coachella Valley Water District, Case No. 15-55896. In this decision, the Court unequivocally held that...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

Sweeping Six-Case Win For Water District Helps Secure Orange County's Water Supply

In early May, the Fourth District Court of Appeal took an important step toward helping to secure Orange County’s water supply. It issued several opinions in response to challenges to a proposed public-private partnership...more

Akerman LLP

New Water Law Will Affect Everyone Who Uses Water in Florida

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On January 14, 2016, the officers of the Legislature presented CS/CS/SB 552 to Governor Scott for signature. More famously known as the "Water Bill," this 134-page page marvel of compromise proves that it is still possible to...more

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Proposed Policies for Implementing B.C.’s New Water Sustainability Act Available for Comment

On July 30, 2015, the British Columbia government released four discussion papers for public comment outlining proposed new policies for regulations under the Water Sustainability Act. These papers are important as much of...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Alaska Department of Natural Resources Seeks Comment on Precedent-Setting Instream Flow Water Right

Instream flow rights can be controversial among consumptive water users because they decrease the legally available supply of water for other uses that may arise in the future. Conversely, instream flow rights are often...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Square Pegs in Round Holes

The Western states face two reciprocating and overarching problems in water resources policy. First, water is an increasingly scarce resource facing sharply competitive needs. Climate change is projected to put even more...more

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