CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS
The Friant–Eastern Tule Groundwater Settlement: Subsidence, SGMA, and the Friant-Kern Canal175
California’s Vanishing Snowpack and the Legal Stakes for Water Manage-
ment176
California’s Little Hoover Commission Releases Policy Recommendations Relating to Data Center Development and Regulation178
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
Endangered Species Act “God Squad” Exempts Gulf Oil and Gas Exploration—First “National Security” Exemption in God Squad’s History180
State Water Resources Control Board Denies All “Good Actor” Fee Exclusion Requests in Tule Subbasin, Preparing Interim Plan182
State Water Resources Control Board Excludes Small Pumpers from
Probationary Fees in Tule and Tulare Lake Subbasins183
RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS
Circuit Court of Appeals:
Ninth Circuit Largely Sides with NMFS and the Center for Biological
Diversity in the Agency’s Assessment of Critical Habitat under the ESA for Threatened Seal Species185
State of Alaska v. National Marine Fisheries Service; Center for Biological Diversity v. State of Alaska, ___F.4th___, Case Nos. 24-7276, 24-7377 (9th Cir. Mar. 25, 2026).
District Court:
U.S. District Court Upholds Federal Compliance at Yuba River Dams, Flags Brophy Diversion for
Reassessment189
Friends of the River v. National Marine Fisheries Service, et al., ___F.Supp.4th___, Case No. 2:16-cv-00818 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 31, 2026).
Judicial Confirmation and Federal Water Delivery: District Court Grants Summary Judgment Motions in Favor of Defendants and Westlands Water
District189
North Coast Rivers Alliance v. U.S. Department of the Interior, ___F.Supp.4th___, Case No. 1:16-cv-00307 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 26, 2026).
RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS
Supreme Court:
California Supreme Court Denies Review in Delta Program Bond Validation Case, Clears Way for Delta Conveyance Program Bond Validation
Case191
Department of Water Resources v. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, 117 Cal.App.5th 751 (3rd Dist. 2025), as modified on denial of reh’g (Jan. 28, 2026), review denied (Apr. 15, 2026)
District Court of Appeal:
Testing Before Taking: Third District Court Confirms DWR May Enter Land Before Project Funding Is Secured192
Department of Water Resources Cases, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. C103207 (3rd Dist. Apr. 13, 2026).
