Weekly Cases Update Volume 47, Issue 35

Monterey Coastkeeper v. Monterey County Water Resources Agency

ELR 20159

H042623 (Cal. Ct. App., December 2017)

A California appellate court reversed a lower court's judgment that directed a state water resources agency to file a report of waste discharges in violation of the state water quality law. An environmental organization alleged that the agency failed to institute measures to mitigate the flow of...

Keywords: Waste (generally)

San Buenaventura, City of v. United Water Conservation District

ELR 20158

S226036 (Cal. , December 2017)

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The California Supreme Court held that the charges a California city must pay to a local water district for groundwater conservation activities do not require voter or property owner approval. By statute, charges for pumping groundwater for nonagricultural uses generally must be at least three...

Keywords: Quantity

Navajo Nation v. DOI

ELR 20157

3:03-cv-00507-GMS (9th Cir., December 2017)

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The Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court's dismissal of a tribe's NEPA challenge to a DOI guidance that did not consider its interest when allocating the water rights of the Colorado River. The tribe contended that it was unlawfully excluded from DOI 2001 and 2008 guidances that outlined how water...

Keywords: Water (generally)

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. Dakota Access

ELR 20156

16-1534 (D.D.C., December 2017)

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A district court held that an energy company must follow additional safety measures operating the Dakota Access pipeline while the environmental impacts of the project are being studied. In an earlier decision, the...

Keywords: Land Use (generally)

General Land Office of the State of Texas v. FWS

ELR 20155

1:17-cv-00538-SS (W.D. Tex., November 2017)

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A district court held that the state of Texas cannot challenge the listing of the golden-cheeked warbler as endangered under the ESA. The state brought a lawsuit against FWS alleging that the agency unlawfully dismissed a petition to delist the golden-cheeked warbler. The petition provided...

Keywords: Endangered Species Act (ESA)

Southern Pilot Insurance Co. v. Matthews Auto Repair, Inc.

ELR 20160

1:17-cv-01207-JMS-DML (S.D. Ind., November 2017)

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A district court held that an insurance company cannot back out of an insurance policy because a policyholder entered into a voluntary environmental cleanup agreement. The policyholder agreed to sell its land and allowed the buyer to do an environmental assessment. When contamination was...

Keywords: Contaminated Sites/Brownfields

Weekly Cases Update Volume 47, Issue 35

Monterey Coastkeeper v. Monterey County Water Resources Agency

San Buenaventura, City of v. United Water Conservation District

Navajo Nation v. DOI

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. Dakota Access

General Land Office of the State of Texas v. FWS

Southern Pilot Insurance Co. v. Matthews Auto Repair, Inc.

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