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News Articles

California Court of Appeal Finds Granting Well Permit Is Ministerial, Exempt From CEQA

Upholding the decision of the lower court, the Second District Court of Appeal held that the County of San Luis Obispo’s approval of permits to…

Read More 2018-09-16

Gold King Mine Spill—Impacting Colorado and New Mexico—Fifth Federal Lawsuit Filed Against EPA by Hundreds of Navajo Farmers and Ranchers

On August 3, 2018, almost 300 Navajo farmers and ranchers filed a complaint for Personal Injuries and Damages against the United States, U.S. Environmental Protection…

Read More 2018-09-16

Cross-Border U.S.-Mexico Sewage Pollution Claim Makes Its Way to Federal Court

Cross-border pollution, which has plagued the region in and around the Tijuana River watershed in southern San Diego County since the 1930s, has been flaring…

Read More 2018-09-16

Nevada Supreme Court Accepts Certified Questions From the Ninth Circuit Regarding Application of Public Trust Doctrine to Adjudicated Water Rights

In the long-running dispute over the waters of the Walker River, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently certified the following question of law to…

Read More 2018-09-16

Colorado Supreme Court Rules that Right to Reuse Return Flows Not Included in Augmentation Plans

On June 25, 2018, the Colorado Supreme Court denied an appeal from Coors Brewing Co. and held that a water user may not obtain the…

Read More 2018-09-16

Washington Supreme Court Exempts State Department of Natural Resources from Liability Under State Cleanup Law

On May 24, 2018, the State of Washington’s Supreme Court issued a decision narrowing the extent of “owner or operator” liability under the state’s Model…

Read More 2018-09-16

Colorado Supreme Court Extends Anti-Speculation Doctrine to Designated Groundwater Replacement Plan

On April 9, 2018, the Colorado Supreme Court upheld the Adams County District Court’s decision granting summary judgment against Front Range Resources, LLC (Front Range)…

Read More 2018-06-08

California Water Commission Announces Final Public Benefit Ratios For Proposed Water Storage Projects

In 2014, California passed Proposition 1, the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Act (Act), which authorized $7.545 billion in general obligation bonds to fund ecosystem…

Read More 2018-06-08

Ninth Circuit Upholds Department of the Interior/BIA’s Decision to Take Land Into Trust For a Tribe’s Casino Project

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) decision to take a parcel of land into trust for a tribe…

Read More 2018-06-08

California Court of Appeal Finds San Francisco Housing Discrimination Ordinance Not Preempted By Fair Employment and Housing Act

The question this case posed for the First District Court of Appeal was whether the Federal Employment and Housing Act preempts a San Francisco ordinance…

Read More 2018-06-08