appeal

Supreme Court: Jurisdictional Determinations are Subject to Immediate Judicial Review

High Court Holds That Jurisdictional Determinations are Subject to Immediate Judicial Review On May 31, 2016, the United States Supreme Court issued its highly-anticipated ruling in United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., Inc., holding that the Army Corps of Engineers’ jurisdictional determinations (“JD”) are final agency actions subject to immediate judicial review. […]

CA Court of Appeal: Mitigation Bank “Highest and Best Use” In Eminent Domain

California Court of Appeal Decision Leaves Room for Mitigation Bank as a “Highest and Best Use” for Eminent Domain Purposes In County of Santa Barbara v. Double H Properties, LLC, the Court of Appeal for the Second District considered whether the trial court properly excluded evidence indicating that a condemned piece of property was worth […]

Kennedy Skeptical Of Waters Of U.S. Rule Constitutionality

Kennedy Skeptical Of Waters Of U.S. Rule Constitutionality Earlier this week, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy called the Clean Water Act “arguably unconstitutionally vague.” This was a welcome hint on the future of the rule for landowners, project proponents and other critics of U.S. EPA’s new Waters of the U.S. Rule, which defines the […]

The Army Corps of Engineers Argues Jurisdictional Determinations Not Subject to Judicial Review

The Army Corps of Engineers Argues Jurisdictional Determinations Not Subject to Judicial Review In the days before oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the ability of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“ACOE”) to claim jurisdiction over bodies of water, the ACOE emphasized the inability for its jurisdictional determinations to be challenged. The […]

California Supreme Court to Reconsider Newhall Decision?

Newhall Land and Farming Company Petitions California Supreme Court to Reconsider Newhall Decision The Newhall Land and Farming Company has petitioned the California Supreme Court to reconsider its November 30, 2015 decision blocking a mixed-use residential project in Los Angeles County. Newhall argues that the Court’s decision was based on incorrect legal reasoning and a […]

Sierra Club Requests to Intervene in Clean Water Act Challenge

Sierra Club Requests to Intervene in Clean Water Act Challenge The Sierra Club recently filed a motion to intervene in a court challenge regarding the new Waters of the United States rule (WOTUS).   In short, the rule seeks to redefine which waters receive federal protection under the Clean Water Act. The United States Environmental […]

Supreme Court To Resolve Split Over CWA Jurisdiction?

Supreme Court To Resolve Split Over CWA Jurisdiction? The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked by several of the original plaintiffs in a Clean Water Act Case, to grant the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ request to clear up a circuit split on whether the agency’s jurisdictional determinations over which water bodies are subject to […]

States Join Fight Against EPA’s New Ozone Standards

States Challenge EPA’s New Ozone Standards Arizona, Arkansas, North Dakota, Oklahoma and New Mexico’s Environment Department join the petition for review filed by Murray Energy Corp., asking the D.C. Circuit Court to block the new national ground-level ozone standards. The EPA recently lowered the national ambient air quality standards for ground-level ozone from 75 ppb […]

Mitchell Chadwick Wins 4-0 vote from Nevada County Board of Supervisors for Blue Lead Gold Mine

On April 28th, 2015, the Nevada County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the Blue Lead Gold Mine, and simultaneously denied an appeal of the project filed by neighbors and environmental groups. The Nevada County Supervisors, before a room full of project opponents, voted 4-0 to deny the appeal and approve the project, certify the […]

Army Corps Power Play: 7 Miles Away Still A “Significant Nexus”?

On March 24, 2015, the Fourth Circuit ended a 13-year battle between Precon Development Corp. Inc. and the Army Corps of Engineers over a proposed housing development in Virginia. (PRECON DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, INC. v. UNITED STATES ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS) The ruling hinged on whether there was a “significant nexus” between the proposed development and […]

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