CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS
Hundreds of Thousands of Acre-Feet to be Saved through Agreement with Imperial Irrigation District77
California Announces a Significant Milestone—Consolidation of More Than 100 Water Systems78
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
California Department of Water Resources Announces Initial State Water Project Allocations to the New Water Year80
LAWSUITS FILED OR PENDING
Sacramento County Sues City of Sacramento for Public Nuisance and Water Pollution Associated with Unhoused Encampments82
January 2023 Merced Floods Blamed on Permitting Delays by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife—Lawsuits Filed83
RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS
Circuit Court of Appeals:
Ninth Circuit Rejects Clean Water Act’s Direct-Discharge Theory as Applied to Holding Ponds85
Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. Edwards, ___F.4th___, Case No. 22-36015 (9th Cir. Nov. 21, 2023).
Ninth Circuit Affirms Requirement for Dredge Miner to Obtain a Clean Water Act NPDES Permit86
Idaho Conservation League v. Shannon Poe, ___F.4th___, Case No. 22-35978 (9th Cir. Nov, 20, 2023).
Fifth Circuit Tosses Army Corps’ Environmental Assessment under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act88
O’Reilly v. All State Fin. Co., ___F.4th___, Case No. 22-30608 (5th Cir. Oct. 12, 2023).
District Court:
District Court Holds Subject Matter Jurisdiction Under the Clean Water Act Is Independent of the Merits of the Claim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Inland Empire Waterkeeper v. Corona Clay Company, ___F.Supp.4th___, Case No 10-26-2023 (C.D. Cal 2023).
RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS
California Supreme Court:
California Supreme Court Denies Westlands’s Petition—Contract to Secure Permanent Access to Federal Water Resources Remains Invalidated92
Westlands Water Dist. v. All Persons Interested, 95 Cal.App.5tth 98 (2023), as modified (Sept. 1, 2023), review denied (Nov. 29, 2023).
