Professor Frank Comments on Water Law Ruling for Sacramento Bee
Professor of Environmental Practice Richard Frank commented for the Sacramento Bee on a Sacramento Superior Court judge's ruling that declined a request by the West Side Irrigation District for a preliminary injunction that would have prevented the State Water Resources Control Board from pursuing enforcements actions against West Side and other water districts over allegations of illegal water diversions.
Judge Shelleyanne Chang's decision came less than a month after she issued a temporary restraining order preventing the state from enforcing notices that would have required districts to stop pumping water from rivers, finding that the orders violated the districts' due process rights because there was no opportunity to dispute the state's findings. After the first orders, the state amended its curtailment notices to make it clear the districts could challenge the state notices at administrative hearings.
"The board went back to ‘go,' started over, and initiated an administrative process that eliminates the due-process argument," said Frank.
Frank, a 1974 graduate of King Hall, is a leader in the field of environmental law and the founding Director of the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at UC Davis School of Law.