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On Thursday, September 14, 2017, Judge Morrison England of the Eastern District of California upheld a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) decision to transfer 853 acres of land in Yolo ... read more
On August 22, 2017, the Marion County Circuit Court in Salem, Oregon entered a judgment affirming the Oregon Water Resources Department’s (OWRD) 2015 and 2016 regulation of several irrigation wells ... read more
Somach Simmons & Dunn congratulates Andrew Hitchings and Michael Vergara for being awarded the Sacramento Business Journal's 2017 Best of the Bar honors, after being nominated and then vetted ... read more
The United States and Mexico are very close to entering a formal decision that will continue the two nations’ cooperative efforts to manage water resources under the “United States-Mexico Treaty ... read more
Stuart Somach has been named to the 2018 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He was named Best Lawyer in three different subject areas: Energy Law, Natural Resources Law and ... read more
Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 398 extending California’s Cap-and-Trade program (Program) through 2030, and providing the State Air Resources Board (Board) with the primary mechanism to meet California’s goal ... read more
Alyson Ackerman has joined Somach Simmons & Dunn as a new associate. A 2015 graduate of Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law, as well as a graduate of ... read more
In a decision that could have lasting impacts on future litigation over California High Speed Rail, the California Supreme Court held last week that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) ... read more
On July 6, 2017, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Lynch v. California Coastal Commission (July 6, 2017, S221980), in which it held that homeowners that obtained a ... read more
Ramsey Kropf, former Deputy Solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Water Resources Division, has joined the Somach Simmons & Dunn law firm as a shareholder. She joins Michael ... read more
Somach Simmons & Dunn welcomes Daniel L. Quinley as a new attorney. A graduate of the University of California, Davis School of Law, he also earned an M.A. from Kings ... read more
The California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, recently held that the California Constitutional provision governing imposition of fees and charges does not require exhaustion of administrative remedies before challenging ... read more
Somach Simmons & Dunn, a mid-size Sacramento based environmental law firm, is seeking a 2-4 year associate attorney with some litigation experience and natural resources and/or public agency law preferred. ... read more
On February 28, 2017, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to review the Obama Administration’s ... read more
On April 11, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decided Waterkeeper Alliance, et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al., Case No. 09-1017, ... read more
Despite challenges from the California Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, and other entities subject to California’s carbon emissions regulations, the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed a trial ... read more
In Residents Against Specific Plan 380 v. County of Riverside (Mar. 15, 2017, E063292) __ Cal.App.5th __, the Fourth Appellate District rejected a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) challenge brought ... read more
On March 7, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Agua Caliente Band v. Coachella Valley Water District, No. 15-55896, affirming the district court’s holding that ... read more
Somach Simmons & Dunn welcomes new attorney Jared Mueller to the firm. A graduate of the University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and the University of California, Irvine, Jared’s ... read more
Last week, in a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court (Supreme Court or Court) ruled that when a public employee uses a personal account, “to communicate about the conduct of ... read more
Congratulations to Theresa Barfield on being elected shareholder at Somach, Simmons and Dunn! Theresa, who had been serving as of counsel to the firm, has two decades of experience litigating ... read more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld the United States Bureau of Reclamation’s (Reclamation) 2013 release of Trinity River water in an amount greater than that contained in the ... read more
The United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals (Second Circuit) recently upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rule that exempts certain water transfers from obtaining a National Pollution Discharge Elimination ... read more
Before the end of 2016, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) issued two publications that impact the long-term implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). SGMA is significant ... read more
On December 21, 2016, Judge Marian Blank Horn of the United States Court of Federal Claims issued a favorable ruling for Klamath Project water users on pre-trial motions in the ... read more