Description: Challenge to the approval of the Long-Term Operation of the State Water Project.
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Sierra Club v. California Department of Water Resources
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 04/29/2020 Petition for Writ of Mandate Download Verified petition for writ of mandate and complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief filed. Lawsuit Challenged Water Diversion Project in California, Including for Failure to Evaluate Climate Change Impacts. Four organizations filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Water Resources seeking to vacate the agency’s approval of the Long-Term Operation of the State Water Project, which the petitioners alleged “diverts large quantities of fresh water from the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River watersheds and the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary for export” and “significantly degrades environmental conditions” in the watersheds and estuary. The petition asserted violations of the Delta Reform Act, the California Environmental Quality Act, and the public trust doctrine. The petition alleged, among other issues, that the environmental impact report failed to adequately analyze the implications of climate change on the project’s water deliveries and the project’s cumulative impacts in light of climate change.