Courts Upheld the Mojave Groundwater Bank’s State Approvals
California courts upheld the Mojave Groundwater Bank’s state environmental review and related approvals, affirming six trial-court judgments.
The Mojave Groundwater Bank, a water supply and groundwater storage project being developed by Cadiz, Inc. in partnership with public agencies and Native American Tribes, underwent environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and groundwater-management review under San Bernardino County’s desert groundwater management ordinance. Public agencies approved the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Groundwater Management, Monitoring and Mitigation Plan in 2012. Courts upheld the challenged approvals in six trial-court judgments in 2014 and six Court of Appeal opinions in 2016.
Summary
- Six 2016 Court of Appeal opinions affirmed trial-court judgments concerning the Mojave Groundwater Bank’s environmental review and related approvals.
- California courts denied all claims in the six cases challenging the Mojave Groundwater Bank’s state approvals and upheld its conservation and monitoring framework without requiring further environmental review in those cases.
- Cadiz’s 2025 annual filing reports that the project’s 2019 and 2025 environmental addenda were not challenged in court and that the periods to challenge them expired.
- An application for a lease and Section 1815 review is pending at the California State Lands Commission, supported by the Mojave Groundwater Bank’s earlier environmental review and subsequent technical work.
Courts Upheld the Project’s Environmental Review
California’s courts upheld the environmental review of the Mojave Groundwater Bank’s plan to conserve groundwater for beneficial use. A 2016 appellate opinion in Center for Biological Diversity v. County of San Bernardino affirmed the judgment concerning the EIR, including its treatment of conservation, supply quantities and project duration.
The opinion describes a total of 2.5 million acre-feet over 50 years, averaging 50,000 acre-feet annually. A limited extension to complete contracted deliveries would not increase that cumulative total. The court also upheld the agency arrangement under which San Bernardino County served as a CEQA responsible agency.
Groundwater Management Was Upheld Under County Law
The Groundwater Management, Monitoring and Mitigation Plan provides the project’s safe-yield framework, monitoring requirements and adaptive management under County oversight. The safe-yield plan connects planned water supply with measures designed to protect groundwater and desert resources.
The project’s County approvals were also upheld. In Delaware Tetra Technologies, Inc. v. County of San Bernardino, the court rejected challenges to the memorandum implementing the County’s groundwater-management framework, including claims under the County’s groundwater ordinance and common law.
Together, the decisions denied all claims in the six cases challenging the project’s 2012 approvals and upheld the environmental review and County groundwater-management framework. Those cases concluded when the deadline to seek further California Supreme Court review passed in July 2016.
Six Cases Upheld the Project’s Environmental Review and Approvals
The project’s 2012 environmental review and related approvals were upheld in six trial-court actions and six subsequent appeals.
- 2012: Santa Margarita Water District certified the Final Environmental Impact Report as CEQA lead agency. San Bernardino County approved the Groundwater Management, Monitoring and Mitigation Plan and adopted the Final Environmental Impact Report as a CEQA responsible agency.
- 2014: Orange County Superior Court upheld the environmental review and related approvals in six judgments.
- May 10, 2016: The California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, affirmed the six judgments in separate opinions.
- July 2016: Cadiz reported that the deadline to seek further California Supreme Court review expired on July 11, 2016.
The period for further appeal expired on July 11, 2016, concluding the six cases challenging the project’s 2012 approvals.
Later Reviews Addressed Project Updates
Subsequent environmental addenda evaluated project modifications against the earlier state environmental analysis. In 2019, Fenner Valley Water Authority adopted an addendum addressing treatment facilities, changes to the Southern Pipeline route, and additional technical and resource analysis.
Fenner Valley Water Authority approved the Northern Pipeline addendum in September 2025. The addendum evaluated conversion-related facilities against the 2012 EIR and subsequent analysis and found that the modifications did not require a supplemental or subsequent EIR.
Cadiz’s 2025 annual filing reports that neither the 2019 nor the 2025 addendum was challenged in court and that the periods to challenge those approvals expired.
State Lands Approval Is Pending as Technical Review Advances
The project applied to the California State Lands Commission in March 2026 for authorization to convey water across state-managed lands and for the written finding required by California Water Code Section 1815. The application is pending.
Section 1815 requires a public written finding on whether the proposed transfer will not adversely affect the natural or cultural resources, including groundwater resources or habitat, of the federal or state lands specified in the statute. In making that finding, the Commission must review all available scientific information, including peer-reviewed and published studies, in consultation with the designated state agencies. The application must include data and reports pertinent to the finding.
The statute provides 15 months from receipt of an application for the finding. If the Commission determines it cannot make the finding within that period, it may extend the deadline to no later than 24 months from receipt and must publish its justification and an approximate timeline.
In its August 2026 letter, Cadiz reported funding the work of a contractor selected by Commission staff to review the project’s environmental record. The record includes the project’s environmental approvals, the 2014 and 2016 court decisions, subsequent environmental addenda, and groundwater studies and technical work. The Section 1815 review is an important milestone prior to water delivery.
Court Decisions Preserved the State Approval Framework
California courts upheld the challenged environmental review and related approvals for the Mojave Groundwater Bank in six cases. The decisions sustained the environmental-review and groundwater-management framework for conserving water for beneficial use. The challenges to the 2012 approvals concluded in July 2016.
Once implemented, the project will operate under the groundwater management plan and applicable terms and conditions of the Final EIR, subsequent addenda and BLM approvals.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many court rulings upheld the reviewed state approvals?
Six trial-court judgments in 2014 were affirmed by six separate Court of Appeal opinions on May 10, 2016. Cadiz reported in July 2016 that the period for further California Supreme Court review had expired. These were the state cases concerning the Mojave Groundwater Bank’s 2012 approvals.
Who approved the project’s environmental review and groundwater plan in 2012?
Santa Margarita Water District certified the Final Environmental Impact Report as CEQA lead agency. San Bernardino County acted as a responsible agency, made its own environmental findings, and approved the Groundwater Management, Monitoring and Mitigation Plan.
Did the Courts Uphold the Groundwater Management Plan?
Yes. The courts upheld the project’s challenged groundwater-management approvals. The County’s plan remains the framework for monitoring, adaptive management and groundwater protection.
Did the 2016 court rulings approve the later Northern Pipeline conversion?
No. The 2016 opinions concerned the earlier state approvals. Fenner Valley Water Authority approved the Northern Pipeline conversion addendum in September 2025, following review of the modifications against the earlier environmental analysis.
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