CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS
President Trump’s Executive Order Seeks Revision Limiting Scope of ‘Waters of the United States’ under the Clean Water Act179
LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS
California Bill to Restructure Water Management Introduced in State
Assembly181
Proposed ‘Preserve California’ Legislation Seeks to Safeguard California from Anticipated Enironmental Cutbacks and Eliminations from the Trump
Administration183
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Releases Partial Initial 2017 Central Valley Project Water Supply Allocation, Sparking Mixed Reactions from
Contractors185
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Releases Fremont Weir Adult Fish Passage Modification Project Draft Environmental Documents187
California Department of Water Resources Surveys Confirm Highest Sierra Snowpack Levels in Decades—But Is the Drought Over?189
RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS
Circuit Court of Appeals:
D.C. Circuit Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review EPA’s Decision to Not Follow Eighth Circuit Clean Water Act Precedent191
Center for Regulatory Reasonableness v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ___F.3d___, Case No. 14-1150 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 28, 2017).
Divided Fifth Circuit Decides Areas Uninhabitable by a Species May Nonetheless Be Designated that Species’ ‘Critical Habitat’ under the ESA192
Markle Interests, L.L.C., et al. v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, et al., ___F.3d___, Case Nos. 14-31008, Cons. with 14-31021 (5th Cir. Feb 13, 2017).
Ninth Circuit Confirms Bureau of Reclamation Has Broad Authority to Release Water from Trinity River for Downstream Fish Benefits194
San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority v. Haugrud, ___F.3d___, Case No. 14-17493 (9th Cir. Feb. 21, 2017).
District Court:
District Court Rejects City’s Challenge to Clean Water Act TMDL for Lack of Standing and Ripe-
ness196
City of Kennett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 1:14-CV-33-SNLJ (E.D. Mo. Feb. 28, 2017).
RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS
Supreme Court:
California Supreme Court Rules Public Employees and Officials’ Personal Email Accounts Are Not Beyond Reach of the Public Records Act199
City of San Jose v. Superior Court, ___Cal.5th___, Case No. S218066 (Mar. 2, 2107).
District Court of Appeal:
First District Court Expounds upon ‘Full Text Rule’ for Initiatives—Deals Blow to County Initiative to Protect Oak Woodlands201
Wilson v. County of Napa, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. A149153 (1st Dist. Feb. 28, 2017).
