Ninth Circuit Rules Reclamation Not Required to Conduct Environmental Review for CVP Contract Conversions

In a unanimous opinion, a Ninth Circuit three-judge panel held that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is not required to conduct contract-specific NEPA or Endangered Species Act reviews when converting water service contracts under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. Judges Gabriel Sanchez, Kim Wardlaw and Daniel Bress explained that the statute imposes a mandatory duty to convert contracts upon request and bars the agency from weighing environmental consequences or altering terms beyond payment issues.

The ruling is limited to the conversion process and does not eliminate environmental review of water deliveries themselves. Plaintiffs represented by the Center for Biological Diversity criticized the decision as a semantic game that secures water for large farms at ecological cost. The WIIN Act, enacted to address historic drought conditions, allowed contractors to prepay for water and fund projects such as storage and desalination. Between 2020 and 2021 the bureau converted 67 contracts, with 16 more pending.