Western Water Law & Policy Reporter

FEATURE ARTICLE

The Big Horn River General Stream Adjudication Concludes after 37 Years by Ramsey L. Kropf, Esq. and S. Chapin Lewis, Esq., Patrick/Miller/Kropf/Noto, P.C., Aspen, Colorado63

WESTERN WATER NEWS

California’s Imperial Irrigation District Petitions the SWRCB Urging a Reassessment of the Impacts of Water Transfers as Mitigation Flows Cease Trickling to the Salton Sea67

LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS

New California Infrastructure Finance Law Creates New Mechanism for Public Water Agencies to Fund Water Management Facilities and Other Public Infrastructure69

Oregon Update—Crooked River Federal Legislation Squeaks Across the Congressional Finish Line, but Time Runs Out for Legislation Implementing Klamath Basin Agreements72

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Issues Draft Environmental Impact Statement on California’s Central Valley Project Municipal and Industrial Water Shortage Policy74

New Mexico Interstate Steam Commission Votes to Support Gila River Diversion Project76

California State Water Resources Control Board Issues Draft Order on Petitions Challenging Los Angeles MS4 Permit77

Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board Rejects Attempted Settlement in Kennewick General Hospital Case80

JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS

Federal:

Ninth Circuit Shoots Down Shell’s ‘Novel’ Preemptive APA Lawsuit Against Environmental Groups, Seeking to Affirm the Bureau of Safety’s Approval of Two Oil Spill Response Plans83

Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc. v. Center for Biological Diversity, Inc., et al., ___F.3d___, Case No. 13-35835 (9th Cir. Nov. 12, 2014).

District Court Enjoins EPA § 404(C) Clean Water Act Determination under the Federal Advisory Committee Act84

Pebble Limited Partnership v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 3:14:cv-00097 (D. Alaska Nov. 2014).

Court of Federal Claims Holds that Mitigation Bank Agreement with the Corps of Engineers Is a Binding Contract against the U.S. Government86

Pioneer Reserve, LLC. v. U.S., ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 14-376C (Fed. Cl. Nov. 21, 2014).

State:

California Court of Appeal Affirms Trial Court Decision Finding the Department of Water Resources Not Liable for Damage Caused by Levee Failure89

Armando v. California Department of Water Resources, Case No. C072383, unpub. (3rd Dist. 2014).

Nevada District Court Issues Final Decree Adjudicating the Carson Valley Stream Systems90

In the Matter of the Determination of the Relative Rights in and to the Waters of Mott Creek, et al., Case No. 08-CV-0363 (Dist. Ct. 9th Dist. 2014).