Western Water Law & Policy Reporter
April 2021
Volume 25, Number 6
April 2021
FEATURE ARTICLE
U.S. Congressional Representative Simpson’s Proposal to Free the Snake River: A Once in a Generation Solution but for Whom? by Jamie Morin, Esq., Confluence Law, PLLC, Seattle, Washington153
LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS
Idaho Water Users Closely Following U.S. Congressman Simpson’s Columbia Basin Fund Plan157
Colorado Legislative Update of Water-Related Bills158
Utah Legislature Adopts Secondary Water Metering Requirements160
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
California State Water Resources Control Board Sets Initial Hearing Regarding Competing Kings River Water Rights Claims162
PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS
Recent Investigations, Settlements, Penalties and Sanctions164
LAWSUITS FILED OR PENDING
U.S. EPA Dismisses Its Appeal of U.S. District Court’s More Narrow Jurisdictional Delineation of Salt Ponds Adjacent to San Francisco Bay171
JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS
Federal:
U.S. Supreme Court Finds FOIA’s Deliberative Process Exemption Protected Draft Biological Opinions from Public Disclosure173
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club, 592 U.S.___, 141 S.Ct. 777 (Mar. 4, 2021).
Ninth Circuit Remands Public Trust Case to Determine Alternative Remedies in Walker River Decree Litigation174
U.S. v. Walker River Irrigation District, 986 F.3d 1197 (9th Cir. Jan. 28, 2021).
District Court Rules EPA Must Determine Whether a Clean Water Act Discharge ‘May Affect’ Water Quality in Another State176
Fond Du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa v. Wheeler, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 19-CV-2489 (D. Minn. Feb. 16, 2021).
District Court Allows Clean Water Act Citizens Suit to Proceed Despite Previous Settlement with State Agency over the Same Violations177
Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper and the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association v. Keystone Protein Company, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 1:19-cv-01307 (M.D. Pa. Feb. 18, 2021).
State:
California Court of Appeal Upholds Regional Water Board Orders Regarding Violations at Delta Wetland Marsh Island179
Sweeney v. California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region, 61 Cal.App.5th 1 (1st Dist. 2021).
