court case

Enviros Make Bid to Intervene In Mineral Leases

Environmental Groups Seek to Intervene in Mineral Lease Sale Lawsuit This week in New Mexico, nine environmental groups asked a federal judge for permission to intervene in a law suit between Western Energy Alliance (“WEA”), an oil and gas industry group, and the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”). WEA challenges the agency, arguing that BLM […]

Environmental Groups Pile On Proposed Warriors Arena

Environmental groups voice opposition to proposed Warriors arena citing inadequate analysis of traffic, air quality, and noise impacts. On October 3, 2016, the Center for Biological Diversity, Coalition for Clean Air, Communities for a Better Environment, and Sunset Coalition (“Coalition”) submitted an amicus curiae brief in opposition to the arena, joining the petitioners/appellants in alleging […]

Court of Appeal Upholds Mine’s Vested Right

Court of Appeal Upholds Santa Clara County’s Finding of Mine’s Legal Nonconforming Use Status In No Toxic Air, Inc. v. Santa Clara County, California’s Court of Appeal for the Sixth District upheld Santa Clara County’s finding that a mine in operation since 1903 was properly deemed a legal, nonconforming use. Lehigh Southwest Cement Company and […]

Jury Convicts PG&E In San Bruno Pipeline Explosion Trial

Jury Convicts PG&E In San Bruno Pipeline Explosion Criminal Trial A California federal jury found Pacific Gas & Electric Co. guilty Tuesday of five criminal counts alleging it violated pipeline safety standards leading up to the 2010 San Bruno gas-line explosion and a separate count alleging it obstructed a subsequent federal investigation into the explosion.  […]

Bay-Delta Conservation Plan Invalidated: Delta Management in Flux

Bay-Delta Conservation Plan Invalidated: Delta Management in Flux On June 24, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael P. Kenny invalidated the entirety of the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan because several central provisions were too vague. The decision has wide-reaching effects on the management of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which is both a sensitive ecosystem and an important […]

Wyoming Judge To BLM: Hands Off Oil and Gas Development

      Wyoming Judge To BLM: Hands Off Oil and Gas Development A federal judge in Wyoming struck down the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s fracking rule for federal and Indian lands, finding that BLM lacked congressional authority to issue the regulations. The Obama fracking rule added a permit requirement for hydraulic fracturing on BLM lands, […]

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. […]

Environmental Groups Sue EPA To Force Stricter Rules For Oil and Gas “Hazardous Waste”

Environmental Groups Sue EPA To Force Stricter Rules For “Hazardous Waste” …but EPA has already found that oil and gas waste doesn’t meet the standards of hazardous waste… A myriad of environmental groups sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to update its rules for oil and gas drilling waste disposal, stating that the […]

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 […]

Federal Government Hopes to End Idaho’s Challenge to Sage Grouse Plan

Federal Government Hopes to End Idaho’s Challenge to Sage Grouse Plan The U.S. government recently asked a federal judge to toss Idaho’s challenge to the Department of Interior’s (“DOI”) measures designed to protect the habitat and support the population of the greater sage grouse. Idaho has filed suit challenging the DOI’s land-use plan amendments, final […]

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