Somach Simmons & Dunn | Attorneys at Law
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Efficiency in federal water issues is a goal sought by many different users across all political and user spectrums. On October 13, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order (Order) ... read more
On September 17, 2020, the Nevada Supreme Court issued a decision on whether Nevada’s public trust doctrine permits reallocation of water rights previously settled under Nevada’s prior appropriation doctrine. The ... read more
In Utah, there is a significant effort underway to build a water delivery pipeline from Lake Powell to transport part of Utah’s Colorado River entitlement to Utah’s St. George area. ... read more
On August 27, 2020, the California Supreme Court clarified the scope of decisions that require environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). In Protecting Our Water and Environmental ... read more
On August 25, 2020, the California Environmental Protection Agency released a new study suggesting that the state’s wastewater treatment plants (“treatment plants” or “facilities”), if operating at maximum co-digestion capacity, ... read more
In Colorado, the State Engineer has added flexibility to perfecting junior conditional water rights. Under a Written Instruction issued by the Colorado State Engineer on July 21, 2020, Division of ... read more
Imperial Irrigation District (“IID” or “District”), which provides the only source of fresh water to California’s Imperial Valley, implemented an “equitable distribution plan” (EDP) to allocate its water entitlement amongst ... read more
It’s that time again! Once a decade the State of Colorado reviews water rights for potential abandonment. On July 1, 2020, the Colorado Division of Water Resources released its decennial ... read more
On June 24, 2020, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California denied the preliminary injunctive relief requested by a coalition of fishery and environmental groups (Plaintiffs) ... read more
On June 18, 2020, the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court’s determination that the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) lawfully adopted emergency regulations and ... read more
On Monday, June 15, the U.S. House of Representatives received the newly-minted Indian Water Rights Settlement Extension Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate and which passed that chamber earlier this ... read more
On June 1, 2020, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule revising license and permit issuance rules under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). ... read more
On May 5, 2020, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) adopted regulations to update the Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP), which oversees the accreditation of environmental testing ... read more
On May 7, 2020, the Third District Court of Appeal issued a much-anticipated ruling in Modesto Irrigation District (MID) v. Tanaka, (Super. Ct. No. 34-2011-00112886-CU-JR-GDS) holding that the question of ... read more
During the May 5, 2020 State Water Resources Control Board Meeting, Staff and Board members provided an update on prospective water rights curtailments for 2020. First, Staff discussed the potential ... read more
On Thursday, the United States Supreme Court, in a 6-3 opinion, expanded the applicability of the Clean Water Act’s (Act) permitting requirements to require a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ... read more
On March 13, 2020, water users in the Klamath Reclamation Project (Project) petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Baley, et ... read more
Special Master Michael Melloy issued an Order dated March 31, 2020 dismissing all but two of New Mexico’s counterclaims in the ongoing original jurisdiction action regarding Rio Grande Compact (Compact) ... read more
Somach Simmons and Dunn intends to provide periodic updates regarding the potential impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on operations for water agencies and service providers. This alert summarizes five ... read more
Today the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) issued a much-anticipated new incidental take permit (ITP) allowing the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to continue operating the State ... read more
Somach Simmons & Dunn intends to provide periodic updates regarding the potential impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on operations for water agencies. This first alert provides a summary of ... read more
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is soliciting public comment on the scope of environmental review for a revised Delta tunnel project despite prior findings of independent technical experts that ... read more
On February 19, 2020, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Central Valley Project (CVP) operations. The ROD is the final agency action to ... read more
On Thursday, January 23, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers (collectively, “Agencies”) announced the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (Final Rule), providing ... read more
For the first time since their adoption in 1978, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is proposing major changes to its regulations governing federal agency implementation of the National Environmental ... read more
