June 18, 2019 | Category:
NewsCompanies may be exposed to unexpected Superfund site cleanup costs beyond those agreed to in deals with the government. The Supreme Court granted review of a Montana Supreme Court’s decision that residents can sue BP America Ltd. for costs related to cleaning up their properties, even though the company already settled with the U.S. Environmental […]
June 17, 2019 | Category:
NewsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) internal watchdog announced on June 13, 2019, that it will audit the EPA’s permitting process for a planned $1 billion Minnesota copper and nickel mine in order to determine whether the EPA complied with Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations. The EPA’s […]
Citing violations of California’s Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the State of California and several environmental and fishing groups are suing a San Joaquin Valley irrigation district over its efforts to help the federal government raise the height of California’s largest reservoir, Shasta Dam. The lawsuit argues that the project poses significant risks to the […]
The Second District Court of Appeal issued an unpublished decision in the case Los Padres Forestwatch et al., v. County of Ventura on May 1, 2019, addressing the preparation of an EIR addendum for a 2015 CUP allowing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 […]
The Cooper Drum Cooperating Parties Group (CDCPG), a coalition of chemical and energy companies, filed suit under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) in California federal court last week. The lawsuit seeks to force numerous other companies to contribute to the cleanup of hazardous substances at a 2.4-acre former drum reconditioning facility […]
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. […]
April 23, 2019 | Category:
NewsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) finalized a rule on April 17, 2019 that would prevent the use of asbestos in product categories like automobile adhesives and building materials. Asbestos has already been retired by the industry, and this rule would close a “30-year-old loophole” that allowed asbestos products to come back without proper USEPA […]
