California v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission et al.

Decided May 21, 1990. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-333 · 495 U.S. 490 (1990) · Cited 127 times

Holding

The California requirements for minimum stream flows cannot be given effect and allowed to supplement the federal flow requirements.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• First Iowa Hydro-Electric Cooperative v. Federal Power Commission · 328 U.S. 152 (1946)
• California v. United States · 438 U.S. 645 (1978)
• Patterson v. McLean Credit Union · 491 U.S. 164 (1989)
• Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. State Energy Resources Conservation & Development Commission · 461 U.S. 190 (1983)
• New England Power Co. v. New Hampshire · 455 U.S. 331 (1982)
• Escondido Mutual Water Co. v. La Jolla Band of Mission Indians · 466 U.S. 765 (1984)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. · 464 U.S. 238 (1984)
• Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co. · 285 U.S. 393 (1932)
• California v. ARC America Corp. · 490 U.S. 93 (1989)
• Square D Co. v. Niagara Frontier Tariff Bureau, Inc. · 476 U.S. 409 (1986)
• City of Tacoma v. Taxpayers of Tacoma · 357 U.S. 320 (1958)
• Federal Power Commission v. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. · 347 U.S. 239 (1954)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Pud No. 1 of Jefferson County v. Washington Department of Ecology · 511 U.S. 700 (1994)
• John R. Sand & Gravel Co. v. United States · 552 U.S. 130 (2008)
• Maislin Industries, U. S., Inc. v. Primary Steel, Inc. · 497 U.S. 116 (1990)
• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America v. Walsh, Acting Commissioner, Maine Department of Human Services · 538 U.S. 644 (2003)
• Texas v. New Mexico · 602 U.S. 943 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Sandra Day O'Connor’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1990). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).