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 […]
The Biden administration’s plan to slash offshore oil and gas leasing drew fire from both the fossil fuel industry and environmentalists on Friday, with energy companies saying it will raise fuel prices and greens saying it undermines efforts to stop global warming. The criticism from both sides reflects the difficulty Biden’s White House has had […]
From our friends at the Pacific Legal Foundation: Chris Heaton, a sixth-generation rancher, is suing the Biden administration for abusing the Antiquities Act to designate a million acres of land in Arizona as a national monument. “The Antiquities Act exists to protect Native American archeological sites, not to give presidents unlimited power to declare vast […]
From our friends at Courthouse News: LOS ANGELES (CN) — The U.S. Chamber of Commerced claims that two recent California laws requiring large businesses to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and to report their climate-related financial risk amount to “compelled speech” in violation of the First Amendment. On Tuesday the chamber, joined by several other […]
WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued more than $1.77 billion this year to agricultural producers and landowners through its Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a critical piece of the Department’s efforts to support climate-smart agriculture and forestry on working lands. Right now, CRP’s more than 667,000 participants received payments from […]
Does the EPA’s revised definition of “Waters of the United States” conform with the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 25, 2023, decision in the case of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency? Background Leading to EPA’s Revised Definition of Waters of the United States “WOTUS” Prior to the May 25, 2023, Sackett decision, the 2023 WOTUS Rule was finalized by […]
On June 22, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) held in a 5-4 opinion that an 1868 treaty between the United States and the Navajo Nation setting aside land for a reservation does not require the U.S. to secure water rights for the reservation. While the reservation is outside of California, SCOTUS’s […]
The United States has the fourth largest Natural Gas Reserves in the World, consisting of 5.3% of the World’s share, only dwarfed by Russia (24.3%), Iran (17.3%), and Qatar (12.5%). As of 2020, 88% of California homes use natural gas for space and water heating, air conditioning, and/or cooking purposes. In July 2019, the Council […]
From January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2022, wildfires in the United States destroyed approximately 25 million acres of land. During this same period, 26,400 wildfires destroyed roughly 7.2 million acres of land in California. As the climate changes, wildfires in California will become more unexpected and uncontrollable. As a result, state and federal agencies […]
From the Department of Interior: The Department of the Interior today announced that it is initiating the formal process to develop future operating guidelines and strategies to protect the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River. The new guidelines will replace the 2007 Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and the Coordinated Operations for Lake […]