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California Water Law & Policy Reporter

December 2019

Volume 30, Number 3 December 2019

CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS

California American Water’s Monterey Bay Desalination Project Continues to Face Opposition59

Imperial County Declares Salton Sea State of Emergency, Demands Governor Newsom Take Immediate Action60

Westlands Water District Signs Agreement Barring Its Participation in the Shasta Dam Expansion62

California Operations Agency Forms Working Group to Explore Role of Blockchain Technology in Sustainable Groundwater Management63

Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir Project Seeks to Improve Water Supply Management for Central Valley Project, State Water Project65

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

U.S. Bureau of Land Management Finds Negligible Risk to Water Resources Posed by Hydraulic Fracturing in Portions of California67

State Water Resources Control Board Approves Long-Awaited Plan to Address Salts and Nitrates in the Central Valley68

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Publishes Notice of Proposed Water Supply Contract with Westlands Water District70

RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS

Circuit Court of Appeals:

Fourth Circuit Affirms Prison Sentence for Knowing and Intentional Violations of the Clean Water Act73

United States v. Blankenship, Unpub., Case No. 19-4072 (4th Cir. Oct. 1, 2019).

District Court:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 2017 Nationwide Permit for Commercial Shellfish Aquaculture Set Aside by the District Court74

Coalition to Protect Puget Sound Habitat v. U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 17-1209RSL (W.D. Wash. Oct. 10, 2019).

District Court Grants Motion for Summary Judgement on Administrative Violation of the Clean Water

Act76

The Blackstone Headwaters Coalition, Inc. v. Gallo Builders, Inc., ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 4:16-cv-40053 (D. Mass. Sep. 30, 2019).

RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS

District Court of Appeal:

First District Court Upholds Mitigated Negative Declaration for Winery Expansion Despite Contrary Expert Opinion78

Maacama Watershed Alliance v. County of Sonoma, 40 Cal.App.5th 1007 (1st Dist. 2019).