On November 17, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for writ of certiorari filed by Glenn Colusa Irrigation District and others seeking to overturn a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (en banc) holding that the Bureau of Reclamation’s decision to renew water contracts with senior water rights holders is subject to consultation under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act.  Our prior post regarding the petition is available here.

E&E reporter Jeremy Jacobs wrote in Greenwire today that the Supreme Court “left in place an appeals court ruling that required the Interior Department to conduct a more extensive review of how California water contracts would affect threatened delta smelt before renewing them.”