Western Water Law & Policy Reporter

FEATURE ARTICLE

Ninth Circuit Allows Discharges from the Klamath Straits Drain without a Clean Water Act Permit, but Avoids Addressing the Validity of the Water Transfers Rule by Daniel Timmons, Esq., Marten Law, Portland, Ore

-gon315

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

California Department of Water Resources Issues List of Critically Drafted Groundwater Basins under the Sustainable Groundwater Management

Act319

California State Water Resources Control Board Approves General Waste Discharge Requirements for Composting Operations321

Thirty-Year-Old Water Rights Adjudication Has Resurfaced in Nevada’s Diamond Valley322

LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS

New Mexico’s Congressional Delegation Introduces Legislation in Response to Toxic Wastewater Spill into Animas and San Juan Rivers.324

LAWSUITS FILED OR PENDING

The Intersection of a Stock Pond, the Clean Water Act, and an EPA Enforcement Action in Fort Bridger, Wyoming326

JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS

Federal:

Second Circuit Affirms Narrow Reading of Force Majeure Clause in New York Oil and Gas Leases in Connection with Fracking Moratorium328

Beardslee v. Inflection Energy, LLC, ___F.3d___, Case No. 12-4897 (2nd Cir. Aug. 19, 2015).

Ninth Circuit Finds Notice of Intent to Sue the Forest Service Alleging Violations of the Endangered Species Act Sufficient330

Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center v. Rob MacWhorter, the U.S. Forest Service, ___F.3d___, Case No. 13-35453 (9th Cir. Aug. 10, 2015).

District Court Finds Scrap Metal Facility Discharged via Storm Water Runoff Pollutants into a Drinking Water Source in Violation of Water Quality Standards332

California Sportfishing Protection Alliance v. Chico Scrap Metal, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 2:10-CV-01207-GEB-AC (E.D. Cal. Aug. 17, 2015).

District Court Holds that Plaintiff’s Sixth Amended Petition Asserting Clean Water Act Claim did

not Satisfy the Notice Requirements of the Stat-

ute334

Peter Payne, et al v. U.S., ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 4:15CV246-LG-CMC (E.D. Tx. Aug. 17, 2015).

State:

Colorado Supreme Court Clarifies Finality of Water Court Rulings For Purposes of Appeal336

Concerning the Application for Water Rights of East Cherry Creek Valley Water & Sanitation District, 2015 CO 30M, 348 P.3d 434 (Colo. 2015).

Montana Supreme Court Requires Admission of Expert Testimony Regarding Claim of Unreasonable Interference with Senior Water Rights338

Sharbono v. Cole, 2015 MT 257 (Mt. 2015).