Feds’ California Water Project Must Charge Customers Equitably

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation can’t charge Central Valley Project power customers disproportionately more than water customers in order to fund its environmental efforts, the Federal Circuit said Nov. 6.

The law requires the Bureau to charge customers in proportion to what they pay to fund the network of dams, reservoirs, canals, and water power plants as a whole, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said.

The Northern California Power Agency and the cities of Redding, Roseville, and Santa Clara sued the Bureau for unlawfully assessing payments under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act. The CVP charges ...