June 17, 2025 | Category:
NewsCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom has unveiled a proposal to accelerate housing development by removing regulatory barriers and streamlining the permit approval process. This initiative, part of the May Budget Revision, attempts to address delays in housing construction, particularly in high-demand coastal and urban areas. A central feature of the proposal is the alignment of the […]
Earlier this year, the First District Court of Appeal issued the first published opinion interpreting Assembly Bill 52 (AB 52), which governs tribal consultation procedures under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). In Koi Nation of Northern California v. City of Clearlake (Cal. Ct. App., Mar. 14, 2025, No. A169438), the Court held that the […]
Newly inaugurated President Trump placed a hold on all new and pending federal regulations. The order says federal agencies may not initiate regulations, have to halt those in process, and consider not enforcing for 60 days those recently enacted. See the Executive Order HERE.
January 21, 2025 | Category:
NewsAfter a one-year absence, Ryan Thomason rejoins Mitchell Chadwick as Senior Counsel. Ryan is an experienced attorney specializing in environmental law, natural resources development, and land use entitlements. He offers comprehensive guidance to clients in various aspects of project development, including securing conditional use permits, amending general plans, changes in zoning, subdivision maps, and specific […]
On October 10, 2024, the California Fish and Game Commission accepted a petition to list western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and designated the species as a candidate species. Threats facing burrowing owls in California are direct mortality and permanent habitat loss caused by urbanization and reduction or […]
We are pleased to share that G. Braiden Chadwick and Patrick G. Mitchell have again been recognized as 2024 Northern California Super Lawyers by Super Lawyers, which is a part of Thomson Reuters, for their high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only a few attorneys from each state are selected to Super Lawyers […]
Today, June 28, the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) issued an opinion (link HERE) overruling Chevron deference in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless v. Department of Commerce. Chevron deference call referred to the prior rule that courts should defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of ambiguous statutes. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing the opinion of […]
From The Hill: The Biden administration on Thursday announced a finalized update to Endangered Species Act (ESA) rules that advocates say reverses some Trump administration rollbacks but fails to fully restore them. In 2019, the Trump administration made a number of alterations to the ESA rules, including adding language to protection criteria to allow consideration […]
March 26, 2024 | Category:
News | Tags:
2008 Mitigation Rule,
Army Corps,
CWA,
EPA,
ERBA,
Sackett,
Water Law,
water rule,
Waters Of The U.S.,
Watershed Approach,
WOTUSERBA Applauds Corps Guidance on Watershed Approach and Mitigation Post-Sackett From ERBA: Last Friday, on World Water Day, Assistant Secretary for the Army Michael Connor issued guidance affirming the position of the 2008 Compensatory Mitigation Rule (“Rule”) that restoration of non-jurisdictional waters and wetlands at compensatory mitigation sites may offset impacts to jurisdictional […]
A federal court decided in February that in the rush to transfer wetlands permitting authority to Florida in the final days of the Trump administration, federal agencies and officials had violated the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws. Florida took over permitting under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act in December 2020. The […]
