Western Water Law & Policy Reporter

FEATURE ARTICLE

U.S. District Court Vacates Trump-Era Section 401 Clean Water Act Certification Rules by Stephen J. Odell, Esq., Marten Law, LLP, Portland,

Oregon29

WESTERN WATER NEWS

Study Addresses Effects of Drought Intensity on Deep Groundwater Aquifers33

LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS

Colorado General Assembly to Consider Bill to Penalize Investment Water Speculation35

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

EPA Releases Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Multi-Year Plan ‘Road

Map’38

California Department of Water Resources Releases California’s Groundwater Update 2020 Final Report41

Washington State Department of Ecology Issues $304,000 in Civil Penalties to Irrigator42

PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS

Recent Investigations, Settlements, Penalties and Sanctions44

JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS

Federal:

D.C. Circuit Finds Agency’s Expressed Intention to Readopt Regulations Following Withdrawal Is Not Sufficient to Avoid Mooting of Lawsuit48

State of Alaska v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, ___F.4th___, Case No. 17-5260 (D.C. Cir. Nov. 16, 2021).

Ninth Circuit Finds the Clean Water Act Allows EPA to Consider Compliance Costs in Approving Water Quality Standards and Variances50

Upper Missouri Waterkeeper v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency et al., 15 F.3d 966 (9th Cir. 2021).

First Circuit Finds Agency’s Express Intention to Readopt Regulations Following Withdrawal is Insufficient to Avoid Mooting a Groundwater Contamination Claim52

United States v. Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company, ___F.4th___, Case No. 19-1874 (1st Cir. Nov. 17, 2021).

District Court Holds Wet and Dry Season Inspections Are Not Duplicative in Clean Water Act Citizen Suit Cases for Stormwater Discharges55

California Open Lands v. Butte County Department of Public Works, et al., ___F.Supp.4th___, Case No. 2:20-CV-0123-KJM-DMC (E.D. Cal. Oct. 27, 2021).