FEATURE ARTICLE
California’s ‘New Human Right to Water’ Legislation Advances the Sustainability Revolution, but at Whose Expense? by Michele Staples, Esq. and Sarah Kleinberg, Esq., Jackson DeMarco Tidus Peckenpaugh, Irvine, California35
CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS
Delta Watermaster Proposes New Enforcement Authority for State Water Resources Control Board41
New Flood Control Oversight Actions Change the Regulatory and Development Climate In California42
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Delisting Valley Longhorn
Beetle45
State Water Resources Control Board Issues Revised Draft Decision Implementing Truckee River Operating Agreement46
San Diego Regional Board Continues with Its Plan to Issue a Regional MS4 Permit for all Systems within Its Jurisdictional Boundaries48
LAWSUITS FILED OR PENDING
Green Groups File Suit against California Department of Public Health Demanding Adoption of Safe Standard for Contaminant in State Drinking
Water52
RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS
District Court Holds Tile Drainage System Not Exempt from Clean Water Act Regulation54
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations v. Glaser, ___F.Supp.2d___, Case No. CIV S-11-2980-KJM-CKD (E.D. Cal. Aug. 31, 2012).
RECENT STATE DECISIONS
District Court of Appeal:
Expansive Beneficial Use Designations by the State and Regional Water Boards for Upstream Tributaries Is Upheld by the First District Court56
California Association of Sanitation Agencies v. State Water Resources Control Board, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. A127207 (1st Dist. Aug. 30, 2012, modified op. Sept. 27, 2012).
Third District Finds Project to Extend Water Supply to Tribal Casino Did Not Fall within the CEQA Exemption for Small Construction Projects58
Voices for Rural Living v. El Dorado Irrigation District, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. C064280 (3rd Dist. Oct. 4, 2012).
Superior Court:
Sacramento Superior Court Allows Department of Fish and Game to Implement Mitigation Measures for Private Fish Stocking60
California Association for Recreational Fishing v. California Dept. of Fish and Game, Case No. 34-2010-80000588 (Sacramento Super. Ct. Sept. 19, 2012).
Mendocino County Superior Court Declares Russian River Frost Protection Regulation Constitutionally Void61
Light v. State Water Resources Control Board; Russian River Water Users for the Environment v. State Water Resources Control Board, Consolidated Case No. SCUK-CVG-11-59127 (Mendocino Super. Ct. Sept. 26, 2012).
