Western Water Law & Policy Reporter

FEATURE ARTICLE

The Public Trust Doctrine: Divergent Interpretations by Different States

By Roderick E. Walston, Esq., Best Best & Krieger, Walnut Creek,

California41

WESTERN WATER NEWS

Arizona Governor Hobbs Forms Water Council to Advise on Groundwater and Other Supply Issues147

Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Declines Putting Pressure on Idaho’s ‘Trust’ Water Rights148

LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS

Bill Introduced in the California Senate Seeks to Modernize State’s Network for Collecting and Measuring Surface Water Flows150

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

California State Water Resources Control Board’s New Sanitary Sewer Systems Waste Discharge Requirements to Take Effect this Summer152

New Mexico’s Attorney General Issues Opinion on Office of the State Engineer Preliminary Approvals Under New Mexico’s Water-Use Leasing

Act153

PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS

Recent Investigations, Settlements, Penalties, and Sanctions156

JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS

Federal:

Ninth Circuit Rules 2020 EPA Rule on Section 401 Certification to Remain in Effect During Agency Reconsideration159

In re Clean Water Act Rulemaking, ___F.4th___, Case Nos. 21-16958, 21-16960, 21-16961 (9th Cir. Feb. 21, 2023).

Seventh Circuit Allows Subpoena Seeking Video Footage of Search During Clean Water Act Criminal Investigation160

United States v. Doe Corporation, 59 F.4th 301 (7th Cir. 2023).

District Court for New Mexico Awards Defendants their Costs In the Gold King Mine Release.162

In re Gold King Mine Release in San Juan Cnty., Colorado, ___F.Supp.4th___, Case No. 18-CV-744-WJ-KK (D. N.M. Feb. 21, 2023).

District Court Finds Federal Endangered Species Act Preempts State Agency Order on Klamath Project Operations163

Yurok Tribe, et al., v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, et al., ___F.Supp.4th___, Case No. 19-cv-04405-WHO, (N.D. Cal. Feb 6, 2023).

State:

California Court of Appeal Holds Reasonable Use Finding Not Required for Wastewater Discharge Permits164

Los Angeles Waterkeeper v. State Water Resources Control Board, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. B309151 (2nd Dist. Feb 27, 2023).

Utah Court of Appeals Holds Claim of Interference with Water Right Is Not Barred by the Existence of a General Adjudication166

Second Big Springs Irrigation Co. v. Granite Peak Properties LC, 2023 UT App 22 (Ut.App. 2023).