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
The organization American Rivers has issued its annual list of what it describes as “America’s Most Endangered Rivers”. The organization, American Rivers, describes itself as: ...championing a national effort to...more
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
The organization American Rivers has issued its annual list of what it describes as “America’s Most Endangered Rivers”. The organization, American Rivers, describes itself as: …championing a national...more
Powerful pumps that supply much of California’s population with water have killed several thousand threatened and endangered fish this year, prompting environmental groups to demand that state and federal agencies take...more
Top water officials for the seven Colorado River Basin states met in December 2023 at the Colorado River Water Users Association conference to resume negotiating a new compromise for how they will share — and cut back on —...more
On May 22, Arizona, Nevada, and California sent a letter to the Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) that announced their agreement to conserve an additional 3 million acre-feet of Colorado River water...more
Hosted by The Canadian Institute, the 11th National Symposium on Cumulative Effects Assessment and Environmental Management returns for another exciting year with curated programming that focuses on providing you with...more
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture announced that its Natural Resources Division (“NRD”) has approved $1.7 million in funding to implement nutrient-reduction related projects supporting the Mississippi River/Gulf of...more
The Colorado River is a critical water source for more than 40 million people, vast agricultural operations, numerous industries, and a wide variety of ecological resources across the seven states that share its waters:...more
Recently, I was asked to moderate a panel to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. It gave me the opportunity to think about the power of environmental legislation, specifically in the context of maintaining...more
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (“Reclamation”) published its August 2021 24-Month Study on Monday, effectively declaring a shortage on the Colorado River for the Lower Colorado River Basin. The August study predicts that the...more
For decades, Florida blamed declining oyster harvests on the State of Georgia. And, for decades, Florida’s elected officials convinced the public they were not at fault. These theories were rejected, in total, by the United...more
On 1 April, the U.S. Supreme Court (the Court) put to rest the long-simmering dispute between Florida and Georgia over Georgia’s use of water from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin (the Basin) that Florida...more
In an April 1, 2021 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Florida’s exceptions to the decision of Special Master Judge Paul Kelly in its long-running dispute with Georgia over the use of water in the...more
On April 1, 2021 the U.S. Supreme Court decided Florida v. Georgia, holding that Florida failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Georgia’s overconsumption of interstate waters injured it, and so Florida was not...more
JANUARY 2020 - FEDERAL APPELLATE COURTS - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - El Paso County, Texas, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al. On January 8, 2020, a divided panel of the court quickly granted a...more
The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) is hosting an informal meeting on January 28, 2021 to discuss implementing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new total maximum daily load (TMDL) for...more
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) recently adopted amendments to its Surface Water Quality Standards Rule, effective as of April 6, 2020, reclassifying approximately 600 miles of rivers and streams...more
Governor Newsom proposes new plan for San Joaquin River Delta - Governor Gavin Newsom revealed a novel approach Tuesday to managing the San Joaquin River Delta that would keep more water in the fragile delta while restoring...more
Ozarks Water Watch (“OWW”) issued its annual report (“Report”) summarizing water quality in the Upper White River Basin. Data from the Report is a result of volunteer efforts which is described as: . . . more than 3,400...more
Every year, Colorado River water users anxiously wait for the results of the Bureau of Reclamation’s (“BOR”) August 24-Month Study Report. While the report is updated and published monthly, the August report is particularly...more
Earlier this week, Judge Christopher Cooper of the District Court for the District of the Columbia, struck down EPA’s approval of Total Maximum Daily Loads established by the District of Columbia for the Anacostia and Potomac...more
In the late 1980s, when I was an associate at the environmental boutique law firm of Berle, Kass, and Case in New York City, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and John Cronin came to visit the firm to discuss a new project they had...more