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By Craig A. Tristao Click here to download the article. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today issued its decision in  San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority v. Locke. The decision reverses and remands a previous district court decision that found NMFS’  2009 biological opinion (BiOp) concerning the Central Valley Project and its impact to salmon species to be arbitrary and capricious.  The…

November 26, 2014 Click here to download this article. On September 16, 2014, following three years of drought and increasing inability to deliver water to Central Valley farms and businesses, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 1739, SB 1168, and SB 1319. Collectively these bills constitute California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Briefly put, the legislation, which is part of the…

DEADLINES APPLICABLE TO THE SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT ACT* Deadline [Beginning] Milestone [Responsible Party] Comment [Code Section] January 31, 2015 Categorize and prioritize basins as high,medium, low, or very Low. [Department of Water Resources (DWR)] The characterization will be based on DWRBulletin 118, or modifications to the boundaries of basins in the bulletin. [§ 10722.4(a)] January 1, 2016 Adopt regulations for…