FEATURE ARTICLE
In a Curious Reversal, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Holds that Army Corps Is Not Liable for Damages from Hurricane Katrina by Andrea Clark, Esq., Downey Brand, Sacramento, California3
WESTERN WATER NEWS
California Governor Brown Signs Bill into Law to Facilitate Mitigation of Project Impacts on Natural Resources7
University of Colorado Study Finds that Pure Strain of Greenback Cutthroat Trout Exists in Only One Four-Mile Stretch of Colorado Stream8
Oregon to Launch First U.S. Commercial Wave Energy Device10
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. EPA Gives Low Rating to Federal Energy Regulation Commission’s Environmental Analysis of 224-Megawatt Hydroeletric Project11
California’s State Water Resources Control Board Issues Revised Draft Decision Implementing Nevada-California Truckee River Operating Agree-
ment12
State Rulemaking Petition Seeks Regulation of Pesticides in Oregon to Protect Threatened and Endangered Salmonids14
LAWSUITS FILED OR PENDING
Green Groups File Suit against California Department of Public Health Demanding Adoption of Safe Standard for Contaminant in State Drinking
Water16
JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS
Federal:
D.C. Circuit Considers CERCLA Section 113(H) Bar to RCRA Claims Regarding Property/River Already Subject to EPA Action18
Anacostia Riverkeeper v. Washington Gas Light Company, ___F.3d___, Case 1:11-cv-01453-RMC (D.C. Cir. Sept. 24, 2012).
District Court Holds Tile Drainage System Not Exempt from Clean Water Act Regulation20
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations v. Glaser, ___F.Supp.2d___, Case No. CIV S-11-2980-KJM-CKD (E.D. Cal. Aug. 31, 2012).
District Court Holds Courts May Not Circumvent Maximum Statutory Penalty Amounts by Characterizing Penalties as ‘Community Service’21
U.S. v. Citgo Petroleum Corp., ___F.Supp.2d___, Case No C-06-563 (S.D. Tex. Sept. 18, 2012).
State:
California Court Finds Project to Extend Water Supply to Tribal Casino Did Not Fall within the CEQA Exemption for Small Construction Projects23
Voices for Rural Living v. El Dorado Irrigation District, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. C064280 (3rd Dist. Oct. 4, 2012).
Idaho Supreme Court Rejects Delivery Call and Continues to Soften the Edges of the Prior Appropriation Doctrine25
In the Matter of the Petition for Deliver Call of A&B Irrigation District for Delivery of Groundwater—A&B Irrigation District v. Idaho Department of Water Resources, 212 Opinion 115 (Id. 2012).
