Somach Simmons & Dunn | Attorneys at Law
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The Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (Regional San) today approved the region’s largest public infrastructure project, a nearly $2 billion upgrade to the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant that will ... read more
On August 29, 2014, the California Legislature cast the final votes necessary to move three companion groundwater management bills to the Governor’s desk. Assembly Bill 1739, and Senate Bills 1168 ... read more
In Tuolumne Jobs & Small Business Alliance v. Superior Court issued on August 7, 2014, the Supreme Court of California held that a local legislative body does not have to ... read more
On August 1, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Court) issued its decision in Stockton East Water District, et al. v. United States, No. 2013-5078, ... read more
The California Legislature is preparing to merge two comprehensive groundwater management bills – Assembly Bill 1739 and Senate Bill 1168 – into one bill (Unified Bill). The Unified Bill will ... read more
On July 11, 2014, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California issued a ruling denying a motion for preliminary injunction seeking to bar the United States ... read more
On July 15, 2014, the State Water Resources Control Board adopted emergency conservation regulations to reduce outdoor water uses as extreme drought conditions continue. In addition to prohibiting certain outdoor ... read more
On July 14, 2014, the Sacramento Superior Court issued a ruling that the public trust doctrine protects navigable waters from harm caused by extraction of groundwater so connected to a ... read more
On June 16, 2014, the First District Court of Appeal issued its opinion in Light v. State Water Resources Control Board (2014 Cal.App.Lexis 523) (referred to as the Light opinion ... read more
Assembly Bill 218 (AB 218) went into effect July 1, 2014, and prohibits public agencies from using criminal convictions to evaluate a job applicant during the hiring process before the ... read more
Water Code section 79700 et seq. creates the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of $11.14 ... read more
On June 23, 2014, the U.S. Forest Service published a Notice of Proposed Directive, proposing a revision to the water rights clause in special use permits for ski areas on ... read more
As predicted, from May 27 to May 29, 2014, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) sent out curtailment letters to junior water rights holders in the Sacramento and ... read more
On May 21, 2014, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) held a workshop to receive comments on proposed options for curtailing Post-1914 water diversions in the Sacramento-San ... read more
Last week, several parties filed petitions for rehearing en banc before the Ninth Circuit in the Consolidated Delta Smelt Cases. This follows the Ninth Circuit’s decision in March of this ... read more
On April 25, 2014, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved amendments to the California Truck and Bus Regulation (Regulation) to provide compliance flexibility for small fleets, low mileage vehicles, ... read more
On April 29, 2014, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) issued a draft General Waste Discharge Requirements for Recycled Water Use (Draft General Order). As a response to ... read more
On March 25, 2014, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (collectively, Agencies) jointly issued their long-awaited proposed rule to, in their words, ... read more
On March 27, 2014, the California Sixth District Court of Appeal held that the California Public Records Act (CPRA) does not require disclosure of communications between public officials stored on ... read more
On April 1, 2014, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) adopted a statewide, general National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for industrial storm water discharges (General Permit). ... read more
A Tulare County Superior Court judge recently ruled that Sandridge Partners, LP (Sandridge) may not pump and export groundwater from its land until resolution of a trial to determine whether ... read more
On March 19, 2014, Congressman John Garamendi (D) and Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R) announced the introduction of the bipartisan bill titled “Sacramento Valley Storage and Restoration Act of 2014.” The ... read more
On March 13, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) 2008 biological opinion (2008 BiOp), which concluded that ... read more
In coordinated proceedings, the California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District holds that the California Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) entries onto hundreds of Delta properties for the ... read more
Last week, the Sacramento Superior Court ruled for the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and Real Party State Water Project contractors on all but one count in a suit challenging ... read more
