The Regulatory Action Amendments to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Guidelines (the “Amendments”) have been approved by the Office of Administrative Law and filed by the Secretary of State. The Amendments are now effective California regulations. All CEQA documents that were not circulated for the statutory public review and comment period prior to the […]
The Departments of Interior and Agriculture announced a $449 million grant for the Sites Reservoir Project in Colusa County, California. The Sites Reservoir is a proposed 13-mile lake that would hold nearly 1.8 million acre-feet of water diverted from the Sacramento River. The $449 million grant will fund a pipeline that will connect the Glenn-Colusa […]
The Sixth District Court of Appeal filed a decision heavy on writ procedure in the case Alliance of Concerned Citizens Organized for Responsible Development on November 26, 2018 (Case No. H044410). The heavy focus on procedure in the Court’s decision doesn’t make for the most exciting reading, but the decision contains an important reminder for […]
Mitchell Chadwick LLP sponsored the Placer Land Trust’s 2018 Placer Conservator Dinner, Awards & Live Auction night this year, held on November 15th at the Ridge Golf Club in Auburn. Mitchell Chadwick LLP hosted guests Troy Caldwell (White Wolf Ski Resort) and Tim DeGraff (Resource Environmental Solutions LLC) at the event, which honored Daryl and […]
Pacific Gas and Electric (“PG&E”) recently closed a $25 million deal to end a lawsuit over a 2015 wildfire in northern California (finalized 11/13/18). On the same day, victims of the Camp Fire in Butte County sued accusing the utility of negligence and blaming it for the fire. Victims stated that the company’s failure to […]
The Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld a trial court’s decision denying a petition challenging the City of San Diego’s EIR for a project involving Balboa Park in the case Save our Heritage Organisation v. City of San Diego (case no. D073064, filed Oct. 24, 2018). The City approved the project and certified the EIR […]
On Friday, September 28, 2018 the California Air Resources Board (“ARB”) stated that automakers that wish to sell vehicles in California still need to comply with the state’s stricter fuel economy rules. The ARB voted to affirm the “deemed to comply” provision of a key greenhouse gas regulation adopted in California in 2012 to ensure […]
The Governor’s office proposed broad changes to logging rules in California to allow landowners to cut larger trees and build temporary roads without obtaining a permit. This proposal is a way to encourage the thinning of forests to alleviate wild fire threats. The timber industry is supportive of the changes, while most environmental groups are […]
A U.S. District Court in Northern California reinstated protections for the bi-state sage grouse in California and Nevada. Environmental groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity and the Western Watersheds Project had filed a motion against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for withdrawing the bi-state distinct population of greater sage groups as a […]
On July 11, 2018 the Air Resources Board announced that California’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped below 1990 levels in 2016. At the time AB 32 was passed, the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 was to be achieved by 2020. Governor Jerry Brown and other State officials said that the results prove the […]
