Somach Simmons & Dunn | Attorneys at Law
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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
On March 7, 2014, the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Board or Board) released proposed amendments to the California Code of Regulations (C.C.R.) Title 23, Division 3, Chapter ... read more
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently sent an email with regulatory advice and compliance assistance relating to the Transportation Refrigeration Unit (TRU) regulation. For additional background on CARB’s TRU ... read more
As California’s water problems draw national attention, the State’s representatives in Washington, D.C. continue to offer federal legislative responses. As an alternative to the “Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery ... read more
On January 29, 2014, the California Supreme Court granted review of State Department of Finance v. Commission on State Mandates, 220 Cal. App. 4th 740 (2013), depublished by 2014 Cal. ... read more
In an unpublished opinion, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has held that a public agency does not need to conduct a separate fee protest election for each different rate ... read more
On January 27, 2014, the United States Supreme Court granted the State of Texas’ motion for leave to file a bill of complaint against the State of New Mexico alleging ... read more
In the midst of the driest year in recorded state history, on January 17, 2014, Governor Brown declared a State of Emergency due to drought conditions in California. Under state ... read more
On December 30, 2013, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) and the Natural Resources Agency (collectively “Agencies”) released the document “Possible Topics to be addressed in the 2014 ... read more
On September 24, 2013, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a new draft science report for public comment titled Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A ... read more
On December 14, 2012, the San Bernardino County Superior Court entered a Judgment Pursuant to Stipulation (“Judgment”) in People v. Foster Enterprises et al., San Bernardino Case No. CIVRS 1102120. ... read more
On January 8, 2013, the State of Texas filed a complaint in the United States Supreme Court (Supreme Court) alleging that the State of New Mexico has, contrary to the ... read more
State regulation of Transportation Refrigeration Units (TRUs) increasingly requires additional compliance attention for owners and operators of TRUs, as well as other entities that use or house TRUs. In particular, ... read more
