Sayles Hydro Associates v. Maughan

985 F.2d 451 140 P.U.R.4th 461 , Util. L. Rep. P 13,917 , 23 Envtl. L. Rep. 20 ,687 SAYLES HYDRO ASSOCIATES, a California General Partnership; Joseph M. Keating, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. W. Don MAUGHAN; Darlene E. Ruiz; Danny Walsh; Edwin H. Finster; Eliseo M. Samaniego, Defendants-Appellants, State Water Resources Control Board, Intervenor-Appellant. No. 91-15934. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted June 9, 1992. Decided Feb. 1, 1993. Clifford T. Lee, Deputy Atty. Gen., San Francisco, CA, for defendants-appellants and intervenor-appellant. Stuart L. Somach, of De Cuir & Somach, Sacramento, CA, for plaintiffs-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Before ALARCON, HALL and KLEINFELD, Circuit Judges. KLEINFELD, Circuit Judge: 1 This case involves the scope of federal preemption of state regulatory authority under the Federal Power Act. The district court granted summary judgment to the federal licensees on the ground that Congress has occupied the field, and therefore the state lacks the power to do anything but determine proprietary water rights. The district judge thought that a recent…