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California Water Rights

Perkins Coie

Percolating Groundwater Is Appurtenant to Land and Is Transferred With It

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The Court of Appeal confirmed that the rights to floodwater captured and stored in an aquifer beneath property were not personal property but rather appurtenant to the land and were transferred with the property during a...more

Allen Matkins

California Environmental Law & Policy Update 5.9.25

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The House passed resolutions last week to rescind federal waivers that allow California to set stricter vehicle emissions standards than the rest of the country. California’s standards currently require the sale of most...more

(ACOEL) | American College of Environmental...

California Dreaming Is Becoming a Reality: Solar Canals May Mean Having More Water As Well As More Solar Energy

On March 25, 2025, the University of Southern California’s (USC’s) Public Exchange and independent advisor Solar Aquagrid announced the California Solar Canal Initiative, a seven-university project to assess the...more

Allen Matkins

California Environmental Law & Policy Update 4.25.25

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Governor Gavin Newsom is pushing to lay the groundwork for building a $20-billion water tunnel in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta before his term expires, and state water regulators are considering whether to grant a...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

California Water Statute Cannot Overcome Constitutional Balancing—Even for Fish

California Fish and Game Code Section 5937 has long been a subject of scholarly debate with uncertainty in its application. In a published opinion filed on April 2, 2025, California’s Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate...more

Nossaman LLP

Federal Circuit Diverts ESA Takings Challenge

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The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, in part, “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” The federal Endangered Species Act deals with a different type of “taking.”...more

Hanson Bridgett

Court Reaffirms Constitution’s Role in Water Use Disputes

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On April 2, 2025, California’s Fifth Appellate District issued a decision in Bring Back the Kern v. City of Bakersfield (April 2, 2025, F087487) (2025 WL 98443). The Court held the “self-executing” reasonableness requirement...more

Nossaman LLP

New Court Case Reasserts Reasonableness as a Limitation on Water Use

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On April 2, 2025, the Court of Appeal for California’s Fifth Appellate District issued its decision in Bring Back the Kern v. City of Bakersfield, 2025 S.O.S. 909. That case held that courts must apply the reasonableness...more

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,...

Water/Aquifer: California Appellate Court Addresses Whether Captured Flood Waters Constitute Personal Property

A California Court of Appeal (Fifth District) (“Court”) addressed in a March 14th Opinion whether water in an aquifer could be personal property. See Sandton Agriculture Investments III, LLC, v. 4-S Ranch Partners, LLC, 2025...more

Nossaman LLP

New Court Guidance on Rights to Use Captured Water/Percolating Groundwater

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On March 14, 2025, the Court of Appeal for California’s Fifth Appellate District issued its decision in Sandton Agriculture Investments III v. 4-S Ranch Partners, 2025 S.O.S. 659. That case provided guidance on ownership of...more

Allen Matkins

California Environmental Law & Policy Update - Special Water Supply Edition

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President Donald Trump on Monday issued a memorandum directing the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior to develop a new plan within 90 days “to route more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to...more

Nossaman LLP

New California Legislation on Water Issues – Updated with Signings and Vetoes

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The time for Newsom to sign or veto bills has now passed. Of the nine bills discussed herein, Newsom signed seven and vetoed two. Please see the update below each bill that discusses its resolution....more

Allen Matkins

California Environmental Law & Policy Update 9.20.24

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Farmers in southern Tulare County will face greater scrutiny for groundwater pumping after the state placed the region on probation following a lengthy hearing in Sacramento on Tuesday....more

Allen Matkins

California Environmental Law & Policy Update 9.6.24

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will lead an investigation into the Tijuana-U.S. cross-border sewage crisis, measuring the potential health impacts on people who live and work near where millions of gallons of...more

Allen Matkins

Special Water Supply Edition: California Environmental Law & Policy Update 7.19.24

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A judge has temporarily blocked a plan by a California state water board to take over monitoring groundwater use in a portion of the crop-rich San Joaquin Valley, according to a copy of the decision obtained on July 16. Kings...more

Downey Brand LLP

Ninth Circuit Hands Major Victory to Senior Water Right Holders on the Sacramento River

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On May 23, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a published opinion in Natural Resources Defense Council et al. v. Debra Haaland et al. (Case No. 21-15163) (“NRDC v. Haaland”) rejecting the plaintiffs’ challenges...more

Allen Matkins

California Environmental Law & Policy Update 5.24.24

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Republican attorneys general from 20 U.S. states sued the Biden administration on Tuesday, seeking to block new reforms to the U.S. environmental review process for major projects such as transmission lines and wind and solar...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

How Construction Attorneys Can Help Entities Benefit From California’s Newly Adopted Potable Water Regulations

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Like much of the western and southwestern U.S., California has experienced drought conditions on and off for decades. Fortunately, the regulatory landscape is starting to catch up with water treatment technology, paving the...more

K&L Gates LLP

Water Regulation in the Western States: California's 2023 Legislative Proposal Highlights

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An ongoing, historic drought in California has compelled California state legislators to rethink the state’s long-standing treatment of water rights. While the recent heavy snowpack and wet spring and summer have alleviated...more

Allen Matkins

California Environmental Law & Policy Update 11.03.23

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The future of California water storage reached a major milestone on Thursday with the finalization of plans for the Sites Reservoir in Northern California. The reservoir would be the second largest off-stream reservoir in the...more

Allen Matkins

Updates on California Water Law: New Legislation and Regulations

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The California 2023 Legislative Session ended on September 14, 2023, and presented the Governor with several important changes to California’s water-related statutes. The Governor had until October 14, 2023, to sign all...more

Allen Matkins

California Water Policy: How Will Water — Or Lack Thereof — Impact Our Economy in the 21st Century?

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How does California’s drought — or on the other end of the spectrum, an overabundance of water — impact our economy, infrastructure, and real estate development? David Osias and Barry Epstein, both partners at the law firm...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Sustainable Water Investment Summit Takeaways: Water Rights, Scarcity and Opportunities

Last week, leaders from a range of industries convened for two days in Los Angeles for Brownstein and WestWater’s inaugural Sustainable Water Investment Summit....more

Nossaman LLP

The Impact of Governor Newsom’s Proposed Budget on Water Projects

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On January 10, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom announced his $297 billion budget proposal for 2023-2024, which includes a $22.5 billion budget deficit. Despite environmental/climate change programs facing $6 billion in cuts,...more

Perkins Coie

Court Upholds EIR for Kern River Diversion and Storage Project

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A California Court of Appeal held that the EIR for a public water authority’s river diversion and water storage project adequately described the unadjudicated waters to be diverted and adequately analyzed impacts to water...more

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