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California Water Law & Policy Reporter

July 2017

Volume 27, Number 10 July 2017

FEATURE ARTICLE

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Issues Record of Decision for Long-Term Plan to Protect Adult Salmon in the Lower Klamath River by Daniel O’Hanlon, Esq., Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann 267

CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Authorize Department of Public Works to Study Use of Parcel Tax for Funding Stormwater Capture Pro-

jects271

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service Issue Biological Opinions regarding California WaterFix273

DWR Releases Proposition 1 Funding Draft Proposal Solicitation Package for Groundwater Sustainability Plans and Projects274

California’s Oroville Dam Spillway Incident Preliminary Forensic Investigation Report and Recovery Plans Released277

LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS

California Assembly Bill 313 Proposes Transfer of Water Rights Enforcement Hearings from the State Water Resources Control Board to a New En-

tity279

RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS

Circuit Court of Appeals:

D.C. Circuit Finds Clean Water Act Does Not Expressly Preempt EPA’s Ability to Withhold Data in the Face of a FOIA Request281

Environmental Integrity Project v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ___F.3d___, Case No. 14-1282 (D.C. Cir. 2017).

District Court:

District Court Refuses to Force Department of the Interior to Complete Six-Year NEPA Review of Regulation Exempting Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration and Development283

Center for Biological Diversity v. Zinke, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 16-cv-738 (KBJ) (D. D.C. May 4, 2017).

RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS

District Court of Appeal:

Fifth District Court Rejects Arguments of Res Judicata Due to a Lack of Final Prior Decision on the Merits in CEQA/Fracking Case286

Association of Irritated Residents, et al. v. Department of Conservation; Aera Energy, LLC, Real Party in Interest, 11 Cal.App.5th 1202 (5th Dist. 2017).

Fourth District Court Finds Property Owners Have No Obligation to Exhaust Their Administrative Remedies for Proposition 218 Challenges287

Plantier v. Ramona Water District, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. D069798 (4th Dist. June 13, 2017).

Superior Court:

Superior Court Strikes Down Regulation Setting Hexavalent Chromium Levels in Drinking Wa-

ter289

California Manufacturers & Technology Association v. State Water Resources Control Board, Case No. 34-2014-80001850 (Sacramento Super. Ct. May 5, 2017).