FEATURE ARTICLE
Statewide Initiative Seeks to Constrain Judicial Review and Streamline CEQA Permitting for “Essential Projects by Blaine R. Dyas, Esq., Remy Moose Manley, LLP, Sacramento”49
CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS
California Indian Tribe Reclaims Tule River Land53
Suisun City Accepts California Forever’s Application for the Area Expansion Project54
Proposition 218—Water Rate Increases Continue around California in a State of Uncertainty56
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Adopts Updated Long-Term Operations Plan for the Central Valley Project and State Water Project57
California Department of Water Resources Issues New Guidance on Urban Water Management Plan Preparation59
California Sets New Perfluorohexanoic Acid Requirements for Notification and Monitoring of Public Drinking Water Supply60
RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS
Circuit Court of Appeals:
Ninth Circuit Affirms Clean Water Act Citizen Suits Must Be Forward-Looking—Environmental Group’s Claims Mooted Based on Discharger’s Subsequent Receipt of NPDES Permit62
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation v. Naples Restaurant Group, LLC, Unpub., Case No. 23-55469 (9th Cir. Nov. 5, 2025).
RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS
Court of Appeal:
Fifth District Court Addresses the Tulare Lake Subbasin in Two Separate Decisions64
Kings County Farm Bureau v. State Water Resources Control Board, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. F088720 (5th Dist. Oct. 29, 2025); State Water Resources Control Board v. The Superior Court of Kings County, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. F088909 (5th Dist. Nov. 24, 2025).
Third District Court Finds the Delta Reform Act Does Not Require DWR to Submit a Certification of Consistency Before Engaging in Preconstruction Geotechnical Work66
Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage Dist. v. Department of Water Resources, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. C101878 (3rd Dist. Oct. 17, 2025).
Superior Court:
Superior Court Upholds Discretion for Public Trust: Humboldt County Groundwater Ruling68
Friends of the Eel River v. County of Humboldt, Case No. CV2201593 (Humboldt County Super. Ct. 2025).
