A January 2021 rule promulgated by the Trump administration that established procedures for the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) guidance document procedures was rescinded by the CEQ effective April 13, 2021. The rescinded rule had originally been issued by the CEQ in furtherance of Trump’s October 2019 executive order “Promoting the Rule of […]
The case cited below is a stark reminder to developers: make sure to hire experienced CEQA counsel before you embark on a development in California! On February 18, 2021, the California Second District Court of Appeal filed an unpublished opinion, Building a Better Redondo v. City of Redondo Beach (2021) Case No. B294328, 2021 WL […]
In April of 2021, the Willamette Riverkeeper and Columbia Riverkeeper, two environmental activist groups (“NGO”) filed a citizen suit in federal court against Zenith Energy Terminal Holdings, LLC (“Zenith”). The complaint alleges ongoing violations of the federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”) for pollutant discharges into waters of the United States, without a valid National Pollutant […]
Four state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife recently signed the Bank Enabling Instrument (“BEI”) for the Riverpark Mitigation Bank. Ecosystem Industrial Partners (“EIP”), the Bank Sponsor for Riverpark, hired Mitchell […]
The Second District Court of Appeal issued an unpublished decision in the case Los Padres Forestwatch et al., v. County of Ventura on May 1, 2019, addressing the preparation of an EIR addendum for a 2015 CUP allowing the continued operation of existing oil and gas wells and the addition of new wells. The case […]
The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has declined to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Bohmker v. Oregon, holding that Oregon’s five-year moratorium on the use of motorized mining equipment in rivers and streams that contain essential salmon habitat is not preempted by federal law. The Oregon law was passed following California’s revisions to California Fish […]
On March 6, 2019, the California First District Court of Appeal, in Point San Pedro Road Coalition v. County of Marin (2019) 245 Cal.Rptr.3d 580, considered whether import of asphalt grindings was within a mine’s legal nonconforming use or whether it was an impermissible expansion or enlargement. The court found that the import improperly expanding […]
The case Ione Valley Land, Air, and Water Defense Alliance, LLC v. County of Amador (33 Cal.App.5th 165) was certified for partial publication by the Third District Court of Appeal, and addresses res judicata in the CEQA context. The controversy originated with the County of Amador certification of an EIR for an aggregate quarry project […]
Public comments closed earlier this week on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and the Army Corps.’ proposed replacement rule designed to clarify which waterways in the country are subject to Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction. While supporters of the new rule urged an even narrower approach, opponents attacked it as an abdication of environmental responsibility. […]
San Francisco and Oakland have renewed their fight to try and make Big Oil pay for climate-change related infrastructure damage, asking a federal appeals court earlier this week to reconsider their previously dismissed lawsuits against five oil companies. San Francisco and Oakland argue that a federal judge wrongly kept their cases out of state court […]
