Somach Simmons & Dunn | Attorneys at Law
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Last week, Governor Newsom issued an executive order calling on state and local agencies to increase water conservation measures following the driest January, February, and March on record. Executive Order ... read more
A recent decision by the Third District Court of Appeal upholding El Dorado Irrigation District’s (EID) environmental document for a ditch piping project will provide helpful guidance to water agencies ... read more
Interstate water controversies come in all shapes and sizes, and Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts recently conjured up a puzzling new one: “Colorado is looking to take our water.” This past ... read more
Despite the exceptionally heavy rain events in October and December 2021, California is still experiencing severe drought conditions. In response to these statewide dry conditions, and Governor Newsom’s October 2021 ... read more
In the Colorado River basin, water users can continue to expect more conservation projects in 2022, particularly in the Lower Basin states. In December, the Bureau of Reclamation and the ... read more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) recently released the long-anticipated proposed rule redefining the scope of waters protected by the Clean Water ... read more
For public water service providers, developers, agriculture, industry—truly anyone responsible for managing a water supply for an individual property or an entire city, county, or region—now is the time to ... read more
The United States Supreme Court unanimously decided its first interstate groundwater case, finding that Mississippi must rely on the doctrine of equitable apportionment to invoke the Court’s original jurisdiction for ... read more
The recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Act) may help ease varied water concerns across the country, especially in the West in regard to its supply issues. The Act ... read more
At the close of the 2021 Water Year in October, the Colorado River basin remains in significant drought, despite summer monsoons and early fall precipitation across the West. This summer, ... read more
Wetlands management and related federal permitting is changing –AGAIN. If you or your organization seek wetlands or related permitting, then the latest changes in for “navigable waters” impact both regulators ... read more
On September 14, 2021, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California denied preliminary injunctive relief requested by three environmental advocacy groups (Plaintiffs) seeking to bar the ... read more
The California Legislature recently passed Senate Bill 332 (SB 332), which would increase legal protections for professionals responsible for setting prescribed burns – or “the planned application and confinement of ... read more
As discussed in our July 28, 2021, Policy Alert, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) recently adopted the Draft Emergency Reporting and Curtailment Regulation (Regulation), to authorize curtailments of water ... read more
Like many cities across the West, Glenwood Springs, Colorado (Glenwood) has been forced to restrict residential water use this summer.[1] But rather than drought, or lack of supply, the restrictions ... read more
California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) is currently experiencing one of the driest years in recorded history. The US Drought Monitor recently classified large portions of the Delta Watershed as being ... read more
Last month, California Coastkeeper Alliance (Coastkeeper) filed suit seeking to enjoin Sonoma County from issuing groundwater well permits until it adopts a program to consider and protect public trust resources ... read more
While arid conditions have prevailed in the Colorado River Basin since the turn of the century, 2021 stands out as a particularly dry year across all of the seven basin ... read more
President Biden’s “Build Back Better” initiative proposes to invest $111 billion in rebuilding and modernizing drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, as well as funding other water quality-related priorities, including addressing ... read more
Following a temporary delay in Colorado federal court, the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) will now take effect in Colorado on April 23, 2021. Under the NWPR, the ... read more
On April 6, 2021, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) approved the application of the State Wetland Definition and Procedures for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Material to ... read more
As a result of increasing demand for water, exacerbated by the decades-long drought in the Colorado River system, the Colorado State Engineer is considering a proposal that would impose stricter ... read more
On January 28, 2021, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Ninth Circuit) issued a decision addressing issues related to the extent to which the public trust doctrine may be used ... read more
If you live in the Colorado Front Range region, your treated water supply may have or currently include groundwater from the Denver Basin aquifer system. If you are one of ... read more
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) released three documents related to its consultation obligations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for its operation of the Klamath Project (Project) in south-central ... read more
