Description: Challenge to program to incentivize groundwater pumping as an alternative to obtaining water from the Sacramento River.
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AquAlliance v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 11/01/2021 Notice of Voluntary Dismissal Download Notice of dismissal without prejudice filed. Plaintiffs Voluntarily Dismissed Challenge to Groundwater Pumping Program. On November 1, 2021, four days after the Ninth Circuit granted their motion to dismiss their appeal of the denial of a preliminary injunction, the plaintiffs filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in the federal district court for the Northern District of California. The groundwater pumping program ended at the end of October. 09/17/2021 Notice of Appeal Download Notice of appeal filed by plaintiffs. 09/14/2021 Order Download Motion for preliminary injunction denied. California Federal Court Declined to Stop Groundwater Pumping Program. The federal district court for the Eastern District of California denied a motion for a preliminary injunction barring the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from implementing a program to incentivize groundwater pumping as an alternative to obtaining water from the Sacramento River. The court found that the plaintiffs failed to meet their burden of establishing irreparable harm and that they failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits, including on their claim that the defendants failed to take a hard look at the effects of the program’s greenhouse gas emissions. The court also concluded that allowing the program to go forward was in the public interest. The plaintiffs appealed the court’s decision. 08/26/2021 Complaint Download Complaint filed. -
AquAlliance v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 10/28/2021 Order Download Motion for voluntary dismissal granted. On October 28, 2021, the Ninth Circuit granted plaintiffs’ motion to voluntarily dismiss their appeal of the denial of a preliminary injunction in their lawsuit challenging a program to incentivize groundwater pumping as an alternative to pumping water from the Sacramento River. 10/15/2021 Motion Download Motion to voluntarily dismiss appeal filed. 09/29/2021 Opposition Download Opposition filed by federal defendants to emergency motion for injunction pending appeal. 09/23/2021 Motion Download Motion for preliminary injunction pending appeal filed. The plaintiffs asked the Ninth Circuit to enjoin the groundwater pumping program pending appeal. The federal respondents opposed this request, noting that the program would end at the end of October and that there was no likelihood of immediate, irreparable harm, including because it was estimated that only one-third of the approved amount of groundwater might be used before the program ended.