Federal judge sends Freeman Dam case back to California court

A federal judge has returned a long-running lawsuit over United Water Conservation District’s Freeman Dam operations to Los Angeles County Superior Court, saying the case turns entirely on California law. The move keeps alive efforts by environmental and Chumash groups to force protections for Southern California steelhead and other native fish on the Santa Clara River.

Why it matters: - The remand puts the Freeman Dam fight back in a court that can enforce California-only protections for native fish the federal Endangered Species Act does not cover. - The move could affect river operations on the Santa Clara River, known to the Chumash people as the Utom, and the future of fish passage at the Vern Freeman Diversion Dam. - The case now sits in the same state court system that upheld California’s endangered species protections for Southern California steelhead, known to the Chumash people as Isha’kowoch.

What happened: - U.S. District Judge David O. Carter sent the Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation lawsuit back to Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday, July 23, 2026. - Carter ruled from the bench that the case belongs in state court because it raises only state-law claims. - The lawsuit was filed in 2022 by the Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation, its Ventura Coastkeeper program, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Ecological Rights Foundation. - The case challenges United Water Conservation District’s operation, maintenance, and water diversions at the Freeman Dam.

The details: - The complaint relies on Article X of the California Constitution, the Public Trust Doctrine, and the California Fish and Game Code. - The plaintiffs seek a court order requiring the district to comply with California environmental law. - The suit alleges the dam blocks fish passage and harms five native fish species: Southern California steelhead, arroyo chub, partially armored threespine stickleback, Pacific lamprey, and Santa Ana sucker. - The environmental groups have moved to add a California Endangered Species Act claim tied to the steelhead allegations. - Arroyo chub and partially armored threespine stickleback are protected under state law but are not listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. - In 2024, the California Fish and Game Commission listed Southern California steelhead as endangered under CESA. - A Los Angeles County Superior Court upheld that designation last month.

Between the lines: - Carter had delayed the jurisdiction decision while hoping state and federal agencies would find funding for a permanent fish passage structure at the dam. - Carter said escalating costs and the failure to secure financing ended that possibility. - Carter also rejected a receivership proposal from United Water Conservation District, calling it untenable. - The judge said a court-appointed receiver cannot commit a public agency to spending or replace decisions that require public participation. - The remand gives the plaintiffs a forum where state law may reach species and river impacts that federal law does not. - Mati Waiya, founder and executive director of the Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation, said the group has spent more than 30 years watching the dam impede Isha’kowoch’s migration cycle.

What's next: - Carter directed the parties to meet with former U.S. Magistrate Judge James Smith to discuss next steps. - The parties must report back within two weeks. - The federal judge made clear that the remand of the state-law action is final. - Wishtoyo says it will continue pressing claims that United Water Conservation District’s dam operations violate California law and harm sacred rivers and fish populations.

The bottom line: - The Freeman Dam dispute is now back where state environmental law can do the most work, and the fight over fish passage, river operations, and California protections is not over.