Western Water Law & Policy Reporter

WESTERN WATER NEWS

California State Water Project’s Lake Oroville Plummets to Lowest Level in Decades275

Drought Has Idaho Water Users and Irrigation Delivery Entities Asking Rare Questions Regarding Water Use and Administrative Preferen-

ces276

LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS

New California Law Increases Fines for Water Theft278

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

California Department of Water Resources and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Petition the State Water Board to Exchange Stored Water to Meet the

Demand in the Central Valley280

Washington Department of Ecology Seeks Comments on Water Banking Policy281

PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS

Recent Investigations, Settlements, Penalties and Sanctions283

LAWSUITS FILED OR PENDING

Texas v. New Mexico Interstate Compact Litigation Update: Texas Files Motion for Leave to File Supplemental Complaint Seeking to Add Parties within the Middle Rio Grande287

JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS

Federal:

First Circuit Upholds Massachusetts’ State Law Enforcement as Barring Clean Water Act Citizen Suit but Requires Operators to Obtain NPDES Per-

mits289

Blackstone Headwaters Coalition, Inc. v. Gallo Builders, Inc., 995 F.3d 274 (1st Cir. 2021).

Fourth Circuit Finds State Agency Did Not Waive Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification291

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 3 F.4th 655 (4th Cir. 2021).

District Court of Hawai’i Applies Clean Water Act ‘Functional Equivalent’ Standard Set Forth by the U.S. Supreme Court293

Hawai’i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 12-00198 (D. HI July 26, 2021).