Law Commons^™

Reducing Overdraft And Respecting Water Rights Under California's 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: A View From The Kern County Farming Sector, Ashley Mettler

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

California groundwater is an invaluable drought reserve for agricultural farmers. With historically dry conditions affecting the annual water supply, precious groundwater has become one of the last water resources available to growers in the Central Valley. The devastating drought effects have necessitated the use of groundwater to help offset the surface water deprivation, and the increase in groundwater usage has become a source of growing conflict among water users and environmentalists across the state.

In 2014, the California Legislature introduced the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), opening the door to a new era of water management and new challenges for …

The Golden Rule* Of Water Management, Russell M. Mcglothlin, Jena Shoaf Acos

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

California follows a “Golden Rule” of water management, which requires management of the state’s water for maximum beneficial use. This principle is codified at Article X, Section 2 of California’s Constitution. However, the Golden Rule has a qualifier—an asterisk—which requires that water management “preserve water right priorities to the extent those priorities do not lead to unreasonable use.” We call this qualifier the Mojave Rule, named after the California Supreme Court’s decision in City of Barstow v. Mojave Water Agency. The Golden Rule* is the foundation of water management in California and the Mojave Rule is the key qualifier. …

Not All Water Stored Underground Is Groundwater: Aquifer Privatization And California's 2014 Groundwater Sustainable Management Act, Adam Keats, Chelsea Tu

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (“Act”) has been heralded as a “once-in-a-century achievement.” While some have criticized the Act’s relatively modest regulatory goals, long compliance deadlines, and weak enforcement powers, others have hailed the mere accomplishment of the state passing some form of groundwater legislation and celebrated the Act’s stated goals of protecting existing water rights and local control of groundwater supplies. Some groundwater basins may prove to be well-suited for the regulatory scheme imposed by the Act, but equitable regulation of other groundwater basins may be challenged by current and future efforts to privatize these groundwater resources. …

A Vineyardist's View On Reasonable Use And Frost Protection Diversions Under California Water Law, Nicholas Jacobs

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This Article will discuss the Light case from the perspective of my firm’s vineyardist clients—including our understanding of the Reasonable Use Doctrine and its application to the frost protection regulation.

The underlying premise of the frost protection regulation is the theory that reductions in streamflow caused by frost protection diversions cause or contribute to stranding of juvenile salmonids in the exposed gravel banks of the rivers and streams in the Russian River watershed. One of the key issues in Light was whether good science supports this theory. From the perspective of my vineyardist clients, the State Board relied on very …

Reasonable Use On The Russian River: A Brief History Of The Frost Protection Rule, Brian J. Johnson

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

The Russian River Frost Protection Regulation (“Frost Protection Rule”) states that “any diversion of water from the Russian River stream system, including the pumping of hydraulically connected groundwater, for purposes of frost protection” must be diverted in accordance with an approved “water demand management program” (WDMP), or the diversion “is an unreasonable method of diversion and use and a violation of Water Code section 100.” The California State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) adopted the Frost Protection Rule on September 20, 2011.

Litigation over the rule culminated in the decision in Light et al. v. State Water Res. …

Desperate Times Call For Sensible Measures: The Making Of The California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, Tina Cannon Leahy

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

The story of how California passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA)—popularly pronounced as “Sigma”—is an example of how what occurs “overnight” can be a century in the making.

California is frequently the United States’ leader in sustainability and progressive regulation. Sections of the State’s Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act were models for the modern federal Clean Water Act. The federal Clean Air Act provided California a preemption waiver that not only allowed it to set its own automobile emissions standards but empowered other states to choose between the stricter California standard and the federal standard. With a market share …

In This Edition, Phoebe Moshfegh, Joseph Baskin

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

2016 California Water Law Symposium, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law Symposia

This award-winning event is produced by law students from McGeorge School of Law, UC Berkeley School of Law, UC Hastings College of Law, Golden Gate University School of Law, University of San Francisco School of Law, and UC Davis School of Law. This year we will explore innovations needed to address periodic drought as the new normal in California water via six exciting panels. The panels will examine the importance of “thinking globally, acting locally” in the context of key emerging issues.

Conference proceedings attached.

PROGRAM

Registration & Continental Breakfast 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Introduction 9:00 a.m. - 9:15 …

2016 Annual Report: Leading The Way, Bay Area Air Quality Management District

Environment, Energy, and Water

No abstract provided.

Passage And Flow Considered Anew: Wild Salmon Restoration Via Hyrdo Relicensing, Paul Stanton Kibel

Publications

The FERC hydro relicensing process in the United States has often provided an effective mechanism to modify the terms of dam operations to reduce the adverse impacts on fisheries, particularly impacts on wild Pacific Coast salmon. This experience with FERC relicensing suggests that a transparent and scientifically rigorous regulatory framework to periodically review and modify the way dams operate can play a critical role in the restoration of wild fish stocks.