The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and other defendants in environmental organizations’ suit seeking to require NEPA review and Endangered Species Act consultation for the conversion of Central Valley Project “water service contracts” with California water districts to “repayment contracts.” The Ninth Circuit agreed with the district court that the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, which created the mechanism for these conversions, did not allow Reclamation to consider environmental effects or to take actions to benefit protected species as part of the conversion process. The plaintiffs’ arguments had included contentions that a NEPA alternatives analysis “would allow meaningful consideration of the trade-offs between water deliveries and environmental harm as well as opportunities to reduce deliveries over time,” including, for example, “to limit the term of the contract so as reduce quantities over time to reflect worsening conditions caused by climate change.”

Lawsuit charging that the conversion of Central Valley Project “renewal contracts” into “permanent repayment contracts” was a major federal action that required compliance with NEPA. 

Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

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Ninth Circuit Said NEPA and Endangered Species Act Reviews Not Required for Water Service Contract Conversions

Filed

United States of America

California

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This sector involves the distribution, treatment, and conservation of water resources.

Ninth Circuit Said NEPA and Endangered Species Act Reviews Not Required for Water Service Contract Conversions

Risk

Impacted group

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance