[VIDEO] The Price of an Aging Infrastructure on the Environment
The Water Values Podcast - How Can We Resolve Water Conflicts?
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
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
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
Who owns produced water in Texas? And what is produced water anyway – oil and gas waste and part of the mineral estate, or groundwater and part of the surface estate? We may be closer to an answer to these questions now...more
The Director General of Water issued Exempt Resolution No. 4155 in December 2024, issued within the framework of Article 129 bis 4 et seq. of the Water Use Code, after consultation with the respective user organizations; and...more
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
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
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
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
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
On October 8, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 389 (“SB 389”), which amended § 1051 of the Water Code to expand the investigatory authority of the State Water Resources Control Board (“Water Board”)....more
A coalition of environmental groups filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against the State of Utah’s Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, and Division of Water Rights (the Agencies), alleging...more
UPDATE: On May 17, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers appealed the district court ruling in Texas v. EPA to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. This appeal would...more
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
At a board meeting on April 26, 2022, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (“the Met”) announced it would be requiring reductions in water usage from retail water suppliers that are dependent on water from...more
Recently, I authored a post for DeltaCurrents, the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management's blog. The focus of the piece is on the ways in which science can play a role in the success of the so-called...more
California oil and gas regulators delay health and safety rules - Associated Press – June 22 - It has been a year and a half since Governor Gavin Newsom directed oil regulators to consider new health and safety...more
Legislators in Washington State introduced parallel bills that would authorize funding for two water adjudications in Washington State. A water rights adjudication effectively brings all water users in a watershed into one...more
Over the past decade, proponents of an effort to remove four dams on the lower Klamath River have hit a series of roadblocks. The most recent came on July 16, 2020, when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted...more
On June 22, 2020, the Utah Division of Water Rights (also referred to as the State Engineer’s Office) released a new tool to assist with tracking permanent water right change applications. Change applications propose...more
Paul Weiland recently participated in the 2020 California Water Law Symposium, held at San Francisco's Golden Gate University School of Law. The theme of this year's Symposium was "Federalism & Water: Shifts in State/Federal...more
Telecommunications - AB 1699 Telecommunications: mobile Internet service providers: first response agencies: emergencies - Fire officials experienced a significant data transmission slowdown of their mobile emergency...more
This article discusses a specific aspect of the Utah Lake/Jordan River General Water Rights Adjudication: options if you miss the deadline for filing a Statement of Water User’s Claim and your water rights end up on the List...more
While California’s drought state-of-emergency has been lifted, legal battles aimed at limiting groundwater extractions linger....more
The Klamath River Renewal Corporation (the “corporation”) recently submitted a plan for the removal of four dams on the lower Klamath River to the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC). ...more