Western Water Law & Policy Reporter
December 2013
Volume 18, Number 2
December 2013
FEATURE ARTICLES
Washington Supreme Court Protects Instream Flows and Leaves Landowners High and Dry by Daniel Timmons, Esq., Marten Law, PLLC, Portland,
Oregon35
Upgrading Water Conservation Pricing, California’s Proposition 218, Smart Meters and the Step Beyond Tiered Rates by Bryan Barnhart, Miller, Axline 40
WESTERN WATER NEWS
Idaho Water Users Provide Formal Comments to the Ongoing Columbia River Treaty Negotiation Process46
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
Oklahoma Water Resources Board Establishes Maximum Annual Water Yield for the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer49
JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS
Federal:
Environmental Groups Lose Bid in Tenth Circuit to Halt Construction of a Portion of the Keystone Xl Pipeline52
Sierra Club, Inc. v. Bostick, ___F.3d___, Case No. 12-6201 (10th Cir. Oct. 9, 2013).
Seventh Circuit Finds Municipal Tax to Create a Stormwater Management Utility Cannot Be Assessed against Tribes and Tribal Lands53
Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin v. Village of Hobart, Wisconsin, ___F.3d___, Case No. 12-3419 (7th Cir. Oct. 18, 2013).
District Court Finds Plaintiff’s ‘Prevailing Party’ Claims, under the Clean Water Act, Flawed Based on a Balance of Equities55
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance v. Matheson Tri-Gas, Inc., ___F.Supp.2d___, Case No. 2:11-cv-01456-MCE-KJN (E.D. Cal. Oct. 11, 2013).
State:
California Court of Appeal Finds Water Code Allows Water Districts to Seek Injunctions against Those Who Have Not Paid Groundwater Assessments57
Water Replenishment District of Southern California v. City of Cerritos, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. B242080 (2nd Dist. Oct 30, 2013).
Montana Supreme Court Upholds Decision that Claimant’s Period of Nonuse Did Not Rise to the Level of an Abandonment of Water Rights59
Heavirland v. State of Montana, 2013 Mont. 313 (Mont. Oct. 22, 2013).
Washington Supreme Court Rejects ‘Overriding Considerations of the Public Interest’ and Invalidates Reservation of Water for Out-of-Stream Uses60
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community v. Washington Department of Ecology, ___ Wn.2d ___, 311 P.3d 6 (Wash. 2013).
