That’s also when no less than three advocacy groups (the Center for Biological Diversity, the Story of Stuff Project, and Courage Campaign) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service, the agency that had granted a special use permit to Arrowhead in the past but, since 1988, had failed to properly document its approval of subsequent renewal applications.
Based on a decision from a federal judge in September 2016, Arrowhead can continue to remove water from the San Bernardino Mountains – legally – until such time that the Forest Service officially revokes its permission.