The First District Court of Appeal reversed a lower court decision setting aside the City of Redwood’s decision to certify an EIR and approve a planned development permit for 4.75 acres in the case Save Laurel Way v. City of Redwood City (August 29, 2017, Case No. A147942). Project opponents raised multiple claims, including violation […]
In response to President Trump’s August 15, 2017 Executive Order directing administrative agencies to review and approve infrastructure approvals in a more expeditious manner, the Department of the Interior issued Order No. 3355 imposing page and time limits on Environmental Impact Statements. On August 15, 2017, Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt issued Order […]
The U.S. District Court for Montana and U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia have both issued decisions suggesting that the “social cost” of greenhouse gas emissions must still be considered under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) – despite President Trump’s desire otherwise. In 2009, President Obama instructed federal agencies to create […]
In response to President Trump’s request for an auditing of national monuments, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recommended redrawing the boundaries of certain national monuments rather than a wholesale rescission of the monument status. Details on the recommended cuts have not yet been publicized, though in the past few months, Zinke declined to adjust the boundaries […]
On August 10, 2017, Public Citizen, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Communications Workers of America, and Earthjustice appeared before Judge Randolph Moss of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking to overturn President Trump’s mandate that each new regulation must be counteracted by repeal of two similar regulations. President […]
August 15, 2017 | Category:
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Waters Of The U.S.Just before the penalty phase of trial was set to begin on Tuesday, Northern California farmer John Duarte reached a settlement with the federal government, after being fined for plowing over disputed wetlands on his property. With the government seeking a $2.8 million fine and tens of millions of dollars in mitigation expenses, Duarte agreed […]
August 14, 2017 | Category:
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mitchell chadwick llpThis week, a California court created an important precedent for public right-of-way access cases, when it ordered a billionaire to reopen access to a formerly public beach in San Mateo County. The First District Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled 3-0 that Vinod Khosla violated state law when he closed access to Martins Beach […]
August 10, 2017 | Category:
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mitchell chadwick llpThe Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed a lower court judgment dismissing a CEQA challenge filed by environmental groups against the California Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), in Association for Irritated Residents v. Dept. of Conservation (2017) 11 Cal.App.5th 1202. The environmental groups challenged DOGGR’s issuance of 214 permits […]
August 9, 2017 | Category:
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mitchell chadwick llpThe California Supreme Court denied a request for depublication in Sierra Club v. County of Sonoma (2017) 11 Cal.App.5th 11, on July 26, 2017. As a result, the First District Court of Appeal’s decision finding against Sierra Club and Center for Biological Diversity is citable precedent. The case involved a challenge to Sonoma County’s decision […]
In response to ongoing concerns over the nation’s ability to safeguard its energy grid from cyberattacks, the natural gas industry has released a comprehensive whitepaper discussing the natural gas system’s unique reliability and resilience against external threats. The Natural Gas Council’s study (available HERE) cites to the decentralized and redundant nature of the nation’s natural […]
