California Water Law & Policy Reporter
May 2017
Volume 27, Number 8
May 2017
CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS
California LAO Report Addresses Severe Weather Damage Across
California—Calls for Infrastructure Improvements and Interagency Cooperation207
Near-Catastrophe at Oroville Dam Leaves State with Major Repair and Flood Safety Challenges—Contract Awarded to Repair Emergency Spillway209
2017 California Water Law 211
LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS
California Senate Bill 252 Proposes to Overhaul the Permitting of Groundwater Wells in Critically Overdrafted Basins213
California Assembly Bill 472 Seeks to Promote Wildlife Habitat on Lands Fallowed for Water Transfers—Raises Concerns About Calculation of Available Water215
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
State Water Resources Control Board Provides Guidance on Forming Groundwater Sustainability Agencies—Formation Deadline Looms217
State Water Resources Control Board Releases Draft Emergency Regulation Establishing Fees to Recover Costs Incurred Due to State Intervention under SGMA220
Department of Water Resources Currently Reviewing Alternative Plans under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act222
Delta Stewardship Council Begins Scoping Process for Environmental Review of Proposed Delta Plan Amendments224
RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS
Circuit Court of Appeals:
Ninth Circuit Holds that Federally Recognized Tribes Have Reserved Rights to Groundwater226
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Coachella Valley Water District, ___F.3d___, Case No. 15-55896 (9th Cir. Mar. 7, 2017).
District Court:
District Court Support’s EPA’s Interpretation on How to Exercise its ‘Residual Designation Authority’ in Clean Water Act NPDES Matter228
Conservation Law Foundation, Inc. & Charles River Watershed Association, Inc. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 16-10397-RGS (D. Mass. Mar. 24, 2017).
District Court Finds Dredging and Filling of Wetlands an ‘Occurrence’ under a Contractor’s Commercial General Liability Policies230
JTO, Inc. v. Travelers Indemnity Co. of America, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 1:16CV648 (N.D. Ohio Mar. 16, 2017).
RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS
Supreme Court:
California Supreme Court Holds EIR for Project Located in the Coastal Zone Needed to Identify Potential ‘Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas’233
Banning Ranch Conservancy v. City of Newport Beach, ___Cal.5th___, Case No. S227473 (Mar. 30, 2017).
