CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS
Data Center Moratoria Progress Across the Nation and Become Political Fodder for Midterm Election Campaigns243
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Releases Final Environmental Impact Statement Detailing Operational Guidelines and Strategies for Lake Powell and Lake
Mead245
State Water Resources Control Board Moves Toward California’s First SGMA Interim Plan as Courts Define the Limits of Probationary Authority . . . . . 246
State Water Resources Control Board to Consider $50,000 to $250,000 Fee for “Good Actor” Fee Exclusion Requests in Probationary Basins . . . . . . . 249
RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS
Circuit Court of Appeals:
Scoping Does Not Equal Waiver: Ninth Circuit Revives HFRA Chal-
lenge250
Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. Higgins, ___F.4th___, Case No. 24-1500 (9th Cir. July 16, 2026).
District Court:
Federal Court Denies Preliminary Injunction Over Shasta Dam Operations, Upholding Bureau of Reclamation’s Water Plan252
San Francisco Baykeeper, et al. v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, ___F.Supp.4th___, Case No. 2:26-cv-00671 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 3, 2026).
RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS
District Court of Appeal:
Public Land, Canceled Shares: First District Court Upholds Mutual Water Company Stock Rule254
City of Clearlake v. Highlands Mutual Water Company, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. A172743 (1st Dist. July 7, 2026).
Third District Court Limits Scope of Regulatory Fees under SGMA to Owners and Operators of Groundwater Wells256
Garst v. Tehama County Flood Control and Water Conservation District,
121 Cal.App.5th 507 (3rd Dist. 2026).
Builder’s Remedy Meets Its Match in the Coastal Act—Second District Court Addresses How the Builder’s Remedy Interacts with Coastal Regula-
tion257
New Commune DTLA LLC v. City of Redondo Beach, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. B337897 (2nd Dist. July 30, 2026).
Second District Court finds County “Declined to Act” under the Coastal Act Giving the Coastal Commission Independent Enforcement Jurisdiction259
Sable Offshore Corp. v. California Coastal Commission, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. B347601 (2nd Dist. June 17, 2026).
First District Court Rules California’s Validation Law Is Mandatory and Jurisdictional in Reverse Validation Actions261
Toy v. City & County of San Francisco, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. A173560 (1st Dist. July 24, 2026, Modified, Aug. 19, 2026).
