State Water Board Water Quality Certification

Yuba Water Agency is currently engaged in state and federal litigation related to the State Water Resources Control Board’s issuance of a water quality certification in connection with Yuba Water Agency’s efforts to relicense its Yuba River Development Project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). 

The litigation is a continuation of Yuba Water’s ongoing efforts to ensure that the relicensing of the Yuba River Development Project moves forward in a timely manner and meets the substantive and procedural requirements of state and federal law,

Latest Developments

February 6, 2023: Statement regarding Yuba Water Agency’s filing with the U.S. Supreme Court

August, 2022: The Ninth Circuit U.S Court of Appeals overruled and vacated FERC’s determination that the State Water Resources Control Board waived its authority to issue a water quality certification for the Yuba River Development Project’s relicensing.

June, 2022:  The California Superior Court ruled that the the State Water Resources Control Board’s June 2020 water quality certification for the Yuba River Development Project was invalid because Yuba Water had not applied for that certification. The state is appealing that decision.  

November, 2020: Yuba Water Agency filed lawsuits in both U.S. District Court and California Superior Court to challenge the July 2020 water quality certification issued by the State Water Resources Control Board for Yuba Water’s new license for the Yuba River Development Project.

Yuba Water filed lawsuits in both California Superior Court and U.S. District Court because water quality certifications are a mixture of federal and state law under the federal Clean Water Act and California’s water quality laws, and Yuba Water must protect Yuba County’s interests to the maximum extent possible.

July, 2020: The State Water Resources Control Board issued a water quality certification for the Yuba River Development Project, without Yuba Water having applied for one after the 2019 Hoopa Valley decision. 

 May, 2020: FERC ruled the State Water Board waived its right to issue a water quality certification in the Yuba River Development Project application for relicensing by arranging for Yuba Water to withdraw and refile its certification application just before the one-year deadline.

January, 2019: U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a decision in Hoopa Valley Tribe v. FERC (Hoopa Valley), which determined a state waives its authority to impose a water quality certification on a FERC license if it agrees not to on an application for a certification within one year, as required by the federal Clean Water Act.