The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has denied rehearing en banc in a challenge to the conversion of Central Valley Project water-service contracts into repayment contracts.
The 28 October 2026 order amends the panel’s 17 August opinion in Center for Biological Diversity v United States Bureau of Reclamation, No. 25-5137, but leaves its central holding in place. The panel concluded that the Bureau’s conversions under the WIIN Act were mandatory and non-discretionary, so the agency did not have to conduct contract-specific review under the National Environmental Policy Act or consultation under the Endangered Species Act before completing them.
The court stressed that broader environmental review and statutory duties concerning operation of the Central Valley Project continue at the system level. Its ruling concerns the legal character of the contract conversions, not a general exemption for federal water operations.
The panel unanimously rejected rehearing, and no active judge requested a vote on rehearing en banc. The order says no further rehearing petitions will be entertained. The amended opinion is therefore the Ninth Circuit’s operative decision, subject to any petition for Supreme Court review.
The court’s official order and amended opinion set out the procedural history and environmental-law analysis.
