Western Water Law & Policy Reporter

FEATURE ARTICLE

Are ‘Wetlands’ Really ‘Waters of The State’ under California’s Porter-

Cologne Act? by David Ivester, Esq., Briscoe, Ivester & Bazel, LLP, San

Francisco, California95

WATER NEWS

Criminal Charges Filed against Former Michigan Governor Stemming from Flint Drinking Water Crisis101

LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS

Congress Passes Consolidated Appropriations Act, HR 133, Which Includes Funding for Several California Water Projects103

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

U.S. EPA Releases ‘Functional Equivalent’ Guidance Memorandum in Response to County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund Decision106

California State Water Resources Control Board Provides Comments on ‘Critically Overdrafted’ Basin Groundwater Sustainability Plans108

PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS

Recent Investigations, Settlements, Penalties and Sanctions110

JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS

Federal:

Ninth Circuit Finds Federal Agencies Violated NEPA and Endangered Species Act in Approving Offshore Oil Facility113

Center for Biological Diversity v. Bernhardt, 982 F.3d 723 (9th Cir. 2020).

Eleventh Circuit Finds Mere Allegations of a Hydrological Connection are Insufficient for a Criminal Conviction under the Clean Water Act114

United States v. Coleman, Unpub., Case No. 19-15127 (11th Cir. Dec 21, 2020).

Monsanto PCB Clean Water Act Class Action Settlement Rejected by the District Court116

City of Long Beach v. Monsanto Company, et al., ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. CV 16-3493 FMO (C.D. Cal. Nov. 25, 2020).

State:

California Court of Appeal Holds Regional Water Board, Acting as Responsible Agency under CEQA, Could Impose Additional Mitigation Mea-

sures117

Santa Clara Valley Water District v. San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, 59 Cal.App.5th 199 (1st Dist. 2020).

Rio Blanco Water District Fails to Acquire Augmentation Water Rights to Protect against Compact Call—Water Court Leaves Possibility Open for Future Users119

Concerning the Application for Water Rights of the Rio Blanco Water Conservancy District, Case No. 2014CW3043 (Water Court Div. 6 2020).