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 Welcome to Argentco.com - your authoritative source for environmental, land use and water law, regulation and policy. Our publications are written and analyzed by top practitioners in their fields, and are designed to provide thorough and timely information that is distilled for quick understanding.Use this site to identify key actions in your area of practice or interest. You can search or browse the Argentco.com Archives by Court, Location or Subject. Paid subscribers have access to full-text articles from the Argentco.com Archive. And both visitors and paid subscribers can register for our free E-mail Alert service which can be customized to cover specific subjects of interest.
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The Latest from Argentco.com
April 2012
Riding the Wave of Recycled Water: Developments in Recycled Water Projects and Addressing Related Water Supply Issues
California's well-documented water woes are becoming more apparent with the passage of time as a result of increased human demand, hydrologic changes, and greater ecological protections. With this passage of time, however, technology has also advanced in ways that can assist water managers in addressing the strained water supply system....
April 2012
Federal Claims Court Holds United States Did Not 'Take' a Water District's Property Interest by Requiring the District to Allocate Water to Benefit an Endangered Species
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims recently held that the United States did not unconstitutionally "take" the "property" of the Casitas Municipal Water District (Casitas), in violation of the U.S. Constitution's Takings Clause, by requiring Casitas to allocate a portion of its water supply to benefit an endangered fish under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). (Casitas Municipal Water District v. U.S., Case No. 05-168L, 2011 U.S. Claims LEXIS 2289 (Dec. 5, 2011) (Claims Decision)....
April 2012
The U.S. Supreme Court Revisits 'Navigability' and the 'Equal Footing' Doctrine
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued an important decision reversing a judgment of the Montana Supreme Court that had held the Missouri River and two others to be "navigable waters" for purposes of streambed ownership, even along what were deemed "short interruptions" due to natural falls and powerful rapids. In PPL Montana, LLC v. Montana, __U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 1215, Case No. 10-218 (February 22, 2012), a utility that owned and operated several dams on these rivers, sued Montana over its claims of ownership of the streambed and consequent right to exact rental fees from the utility, both retroactively and into the future....
April 2012
Recent Investigations, Settlements, Penalties and Sanctions
Civil Enforcement Actions and Settlements-- Air Quality....
April 2012
District Court Denies Attempt to Extend Bestfoods Analysis for Holding Related Entities Responsible in Non-CERCLA Context
The U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina recently dismissed a distant parent company and an affiliate (collectively: Related Entities) of a limited liability company, which owns and operates a landfill, because plaintiffs failed to show that direct liability exists in South Carolina for non-owning entities that directly control a property....
April 2012
U.S. Government Accountability Office Examines Fragmented Federal Diesel Emissions Programs
A recently released report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) examines 14 federal mobile diesel emissions reduction programs....
April 2012
Seventh Circuit Finds Owners of Personal Motor Vehicles Involved in Accidents Are Not Liable for CERCLA Response Costs under the 'Consumer Products in Consumer Use' Exemption
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the District Court's judgment that personally-owned motor vehicles fall within the "consumer production" exception, and thus the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) response costs cannot be recovered from vehicle owners. In this case, Emergency Services Billing Corporation, Inc....
April 2012
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Issues New Nationwide Permit Regulations
On February 21, 2012, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) reissued 48 nationwide permits (NWP), with changes, and issued two new NWPs, for work done in navigable waters or wetlands. Most notably, these new and reissued NWPs impose new requirements on mining activities, while streamlining the permitting process for alternative energy projects....
April 2012
U.S. House of Representatives Passes the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act
On February 29, 2012, the United States House of Representatives passed the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act (HR 1837)....
April 2012
Fifth District Holds Residential Development's Impact on Groundwater Requires Environmental Review
Last month, in an unpublished opinion, the Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District found that a proposed residential development in the City of Selma would have a significant effect on the environment, requiring the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Using the "fair argument" test, the court determined there was substantial evidence that the proposed project would contribute to the overdraft of groundwater and the lowering of the water table by increasing consumption from the Kings Groundwater Basin, which has been operating in overdraft condition for years....
April 2012
Los Angeles DWP Asserts Historic Water Rights in Challenge to Mammoth Community Water District's Urban Water Management Plan
On February 14, 2012, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) filed a Petition for writ of mandate and complaint for declaratory relief against the Mammoth Community Water District (Mammoth) on the ground that its 2010 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) illegally relies on water right permits that are junior to LADWP's own water rights. See, City of Los Angeles v. Mammoth Community Water District et al., Case No. CV120012 (Mono County Superior Court)....
April 2012
Sonoma County Water Agency Votes to Help Fund Independent Scientific Panel to Study Russian River Watershed
In late February, the Board of Directors for the Sonoma County Water Agency authorized a cooperative agreement with three other groups to the form and fund an independent scientific panel that will consolidate and organize data regarding the Russian River Watershed....
April 2012
U.S. Supreme Court Decides a Clean Water Act Compliance Order Can Be Challenged In Court Prior to an EPA Enforcement Action
In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Scalia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a party served with a Clean Water Act (CWA) compliance order may bring an action challenging that order in federal court pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act....
April 2012
Recent Investigations, Settlements, Penalties and Sanctions
Civil Enforcement Actions and Settlements-- Water Quality....
April 2012
Washington State Enacts Relinquishment Exception for Water Right Change Applications
Continuing a recent pattern of incremental reforms to the water right relinquishment statute, the State of Washington has enacted an amendment intended to protect water rights for which change applications are pending before the State Department of Ecology (Ecology)....
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