Somach Simmons & Dunn | Attorneys at Law
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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
Water users and developers in Colorado’s Designated Ground Water Basins – take heed. New amendments to administrative rules will significantly affect existing and future groundwater uses in eastern Colorado. Impacts ... read more
The Special Master in the long-running dispute between Florida and Georgia over the apportionment of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin (ACF Basin) issued a report to the U.S. Supreme Court last ... read more
The Division of Water Rights will introduce its “Streamlined Processing for Standard Groundwater Recharge Rights” at the regular November 19th meeting of the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board). The ... read more
On October 3, 2019, the Ninth Circuit ruled on an appeal brought by Friends of the River (FOR), who sought review of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District ... read more
Efforts to increase recycled water use in California got a significant boost this week with the State Water Board’s issuance of an order authorizing the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District’s ... read more
The Ninth Circuit recently held that dischargers bear the burden of showing a court that their discharges meet a statutory exception to the permitting requirement in the Clean Water Act ... read more
Earlier this year, the California Court of Appeal upheld a trial court decision authorizing an irrigation district to withhold water deliveries to landowners within the district who violate rules promulgated ... read more
The California Legislature recently passed SB-200 that will create an annual fund of $130 million to tackle the state’s drinking water problems. Approximately one million Californians do not have access ... read more
Earlier this month, the United States EPA and FEMA entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at facilitating quicker disaster response times by increasing coordination between the two agencies ... read more
A federal district court in Texas remanded the Obama-era rule defining “waters of the United States,” commonly referred to as “WOTUS,” to the federal agencies that published the rule. The ... read more
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) formally withdrew its approval for the twin tunnel water project known as California WaterFix, its certification of the environmental impact report (EIR) for ... read more
Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued a decision in “Phase #2” of Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Coachella Valley Water ... read more
This is Part 1 of a multi-part series tracking the progress of Senate Bill 454 through the California Legislature. Senate Bill 454 passed the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee ... read more
On April 9, 2019, Assembly Bill 1194 (AB 1194), aimed at increasing local representation on the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC), died in the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. A ... read more
With atypical haste, on April 8, 2019, Congress passed legislation authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to implement the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). Once the President signs the ... read more
