Environmental Law & Policy Alert – Update from Somach, Simmons & Dunn

March 07, 2023

California Court of Appeal Holds that State Water Board Is Not Required to Investigate Whether Permitted Wastewater Discharges Amounts to Waste and Unreasonable Use

On February 27, 2023, the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District (Court of Appeal) affirmed in part and reversed in part the Los Angeles Superior Court’s decision in Los Angeles Waterkeeper v. State Water Resources Control Board, et al., Case No. BS171009. Somach Simmons & Dunn filed an amici curiae brief on behalf of the California Association of Sanitation Agencies, Association of California Water Agencies, and WateReuse Association informing the Court of Appeal of the unintended consequences of the rule issued by the trial court, which found that California Constitution Article X, section 2 imposed a duty on the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) to prevent the waste of permitted wastewater discharges. … Read More

Written by Michelle E. Chester