Western Water Law & Policy Reporter
March 2022
Volume 26, Number 5
March 2022
FEATURE ARTICLE
Southwestern Idaho Irrigation Districts Respond to FEMA Public Comment Solicitation Regarding National Flood Insurance Program Regulations by Andrew J. Waldera, Esq., Sawtooth Law Offices PLLC, Boise, Idaho121
WESTERN WATER NEWS
Water Rights Implications of New Mexico’s Pending Implementation of Cannabis Regulation Act124
LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS
California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office Recommends Governor’s Water and Drought Response Proposal Include More Funding for Groundwater Recharge126
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and NOAA Enter into Joint Memorandum Regarding ESA Consultations for Existing Structures128
California Department of Water Resources Deems Groundwater Sustainability Plans for 12 Critically Overdrafted Basins Incomplete130
Nevada State Engineer Amends Procedures for Managing Groundwater Appropriations to Protect Endangered Devils Hole Pupfish131
Washington State Regulatory Update: Department of Ecology continues to Wrestle with Water Banking133
LAWSUITS FILED OR PENDING
U.S. Supreme Court Grants Certiorari to Revisit the Proper Test for Determining which Wetlands Qualify as ‘Waters of the United States’ under the Clean Water Act135
JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS
Federal:
Fourth Circuit Vacates U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2020 Biological Opinion for Natural Gas Pipeline138
Appalachian Voices, et. al. v. U.S. Department of the Interior, ___F.4th___, Case No. 20-2159 (4th Cir. Feb. 3, 2022).
Federal Claims Court Determines Federal Government Is Not Required to Pay Local Fees to Abate Water Pollution140
City of Wilmington v. United States, ___F.Supp.4th___, Case No. 16-1619C (Fed. Cl. Jan. 26, 2022).