The following is our summary of the Supreme Court’s actions on petitions for review in civil cases from the Court’s conference on December 13, 2017. The summary includes those civil cases in which (1) review has been granted, (2) review has been denied but one or more justices has voted for review, or (3) the Court has ordered depublished an opinion of the Court of Appeal.=
Review Granted
None.
Review Denied (with dissenting justices)
None.
Depublished
Living Rivers Council v. State Water Resources Control Board, S245303 – Review Denied and Depublished – December 13, 2017
In Living Rivers Council v. State Water Resources Control Board (2017) 15 Cal.App.5th 991, the Court of Appeal, First District, Division Five, affirmed an order denying Living Rivers Council’s petition for writ of mandate to compel the State Water Resources Control Board to rescind its approval of a policy designed to maintain water flows in coastal streams north of San Francisco. The Board’s Revised Substitute Environmental Document (RSED) concluded that increased groundwater pumping was uncertain or unlikely. The Court of Appeal ruled the RSED was not inconsistent with the Board’s finding that groundwater pumping could have significant effects on the environment because a significant net reduction in flows was unlikely. Additionally, the Court of Appeal held the RSED adequately described subterranean stream delineations as a potential mitigation measure and sufficiently explained why they were infeasible because the Board appropriately considered that subterranean stream delineations were unlikely to mitigate a potential increase in groundwater pumping.
The Supreme Court denied review and ordered the Court of Appeal’s opinion depublished.
