Your authoritative, multi-channel network for natural resources and environmental information since 1989 – by practioners for practitioners.

Western Water Law & Policy Reporter

July 2018

Volume 22, Number 9 July 2018

WESTERN WATER NEWS

President Trump Reverses Obama-Era Ocean Policies via New Executive Order243

Colorado Western Slope, Front Range Users Moving Closer to Settlement of Pivotal Water Rights Case244

Oregon Takes Steps to Regulate Toxic Algae in Drinking Water246

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

Nevada State Engineer Issues New Curtailment and Limiting Orders Impacting Extractions for Groundwater Basins249

Washington State Department of Ecology Issues Interim Guidance on ‘Net Ecological Benefit’ for Water Resource Mitigation250

LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS

Legislation Introduced in Congress to Bar Judicial Review of California Waterfix—The Next Chapter in the Long Battle to Save the Delta and State Water Project253

Arizona Legislative Water Efforts in the Face of Unending Drought255

California Voters Approve Tax Exclusion for Rainwater Capture Sys-

tems257

LAWSUITS FILED OR PENDING

New Mexico Files Counterclaims against Texas in Texas v. New Mexico Interstate Compact Litigation259

RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS

Second Circuit Finds State Law Claims Seeking Recovery for Contamination Released during Water Pollution Superfund Cleanup Are Preempted under CERCLA262

Bartlett et. al. v. Honeywell International Inc., ___F.3d___, Case No. 17-1907-CV (2nd Cir. May 25, 2018).

Fourth Circuit Dismisses Lawsuit Filed by Plaintiff for Local Dispute Alleging Clean Water Act Violations264

Schneider v. Donaldson Funeral Home and Howard County, Unpublished, Case No. 17-1183 (4th Cir. May 9, 2018).

Eighth Circuit Treats Hydrologically-Connected Water Bodies as Separate for Purposes of Clean Water Act Permitting Transportation Facilities266

Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 888 F.3d 906 (8th Cir. 2018).

RECENT STATE DECISIONS

Washington Supreme Court Exempts Department of Natural Resources from Liability under State Cleanup Law268

Pope Resources LP, et al. v. Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Case No. 94084-3 (Wash. May 24, 2018).