WESTERN WATER NEWS
Western U.S. States Miss Deadline Amid Colorado River Negotiations53
Artificial Intelligence, Data Centers, and Water: An Emerging Front in Washington State Water Law54
LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS
California Senate Bill 72, A Bill to Modernize the California Water Plan and Advance Long-Term Water Supply Goals56
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
New Endangered Species Act Rulemaking Being Proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service58
California State Water Board Recirculates Revised Draft Staff Report and Substitute Environmental Document for Proposed Update to Bay Delta
Plan59
Colorado Increases Regulations, Measurement Rules in the Face of Continuing Drought61
Idaho Department of Water Resources Staff Report in Irrigation District Challenge to ESPA Injury Determination and Mitigation Methodology Highlights Difficulty in Balancing Mitigation Obligation Fairness63
PENALTIES & SANCTIONS
Recent Investigations, Settlements, Penalties, and Sanctions65
JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS
Federal:
Fifth Circuit Finds Residents Afflicted by Lead-Contaminated Drinking Water May Proceed with Due Process Claims Against City—Formalizes State-
Created Danger Theory68
Sterling v. City of Jackson, ___F.4th___, Case No. 24-60370 (5th Cir. Nov. 17, 2025).
State:
California Court of Appeal Affirms the State Water Board’s Discretionary Declination of Review
Not Quasi-Judicial Action Subject to Judicial
Scrutiny70
Bareilles v. State Water Resources Control Board, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. A171456 (1st Dist. Nov. 17, 2025).
When a “Fee” Becomes a Tax: Groundwater Replenishment Charges under Renewed Constitutional Scrutiny72
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association v. Coachella Valley Water District, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. E081996 (4th Dist. Nov. 26, 2025).
