On December 19, the US Fish and Wildlife Service designated 197,303 acres of critical habitat for the California gnatcatcher, a reduction of 298,492 acres from the agency's 2003 proposal. The final rulemaking is available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/07-6003.pdf
The USFWS has proposed approval of a programmatic safe harbor agreement with the Audubon Society, through which private landowners can obtain protection through participation in an Audubon program. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-15893.pdf
The Ninth Circuit, interpreting the Supreme Court's Rapanos decision, held that a stream that flows only during the two wettest months of the year is nonetheless subject to Corps jurisdiction. As a result, the Court upheld a criminal conviction for the unpermitted filling of Teton Creek in Idaho. http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/9B92282951AA66A08825732B0081A11B/$file/0630379.pdf?openelement
In San Francisco Baykeeper v. Cargill Salt Division, the Ninth Circuit declined to find Clean Water Act jurisdiction over a non-navigable pond that was adjacent to a navigable-in-fact slough connected to San Francisco Bay. The Court found that there was no demonstrated hydrologic connection between the pond and the slough, so it did not constitute a "tributary," and that the significant nexus standard of Rapanos only applies to adjacent wetlands, and not other waters. http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/CDA448EC67C9D576882572970081A142/$file/0417554.pdf?openelement
The District Court for the District of Columbia has invalidated the Corps of Engineers' so-called "Tulloch" rule, which regulated dredging activities resulting in more than "incidental" fallback. Application of the rule has been enjoined by the Court. National Association of Home Builders v. Corps of Engineers, No. 01-0274 (January 30, 2007).
The Supreme Court has agreed to review a decision of the Ninth Circuit holding that the delegation of Clean Water Act authority to the State of Arizona is subject to the Endangered Species Act's Section 7 consultation requirements. The Ninth Circuit's opinion can be found at http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/BD7EC45CE5FFA89B88257065005746B3/$file/0371439.pdf?openelement
The San Joaquin County Superior Court has upheld in its entirety the Environmental Impact Report for the University Community adjacent to the UC Merced campus.
The Ninth Circuit held on July 24, 2006 that BLM's inaction with respect to private diversions of water did not trigger a Section 7 obligation. Western Watersheds v. Matejko
In Northern California River Watch v. City of Healdsburg, the Ninth Circuit held that evidence of subsurface flow from a wetland separated by a berm from the Russian River was sufficient to establish a significant nexus under Judge Kennedy's opinion in the Rapanos case. An amended opinion in the case was filed on August 6, 2007, and can be found at http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0415442pv2.pdf. The original opinion can be found at http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/coa/newopinions.nsf/C7782E9891760EFF882571C6004BD4EB/$file/0415442.pdf?openelement
Oregon District Court Judge Redden found the approach taken in the Snake River Biological Opinion applied an impermissibly narrow comparative approach. American Rivers v. NOAA Fisheries
