In the recent California Third District Court of Appeal decision, Alliance for Responsible Planning v. Taylor, — Cal.Rptr.3d —-, Case No. 085712 (May 4, 2021), the Court determined that an initiative measure requiring new development projects to mitigate both the individual project’s traffic levels of service (“LOS”) impacts, and also the cumulative traffic LOS impacts […]
Despite concern from customer advocacy groups, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) granted PG&E initial approval to securitize costs from a series of 2017 wildfires on Thursday, April 22. If the CPUC approves a similar financing order in May, PG&E will be able to issue $7.5 billion of recovery bonds, resulting in a charge to […]
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to ban hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as ‘fracking,’ by 2024 in an April 23 press release. As part of his personal longer-term goal to end all oil extraction in the state by 2045, the governor directed the California Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management (CalGEM) Division to immediately […]
On Friday, April 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied Dakota Access LLC’s request for a rehearing on a three-judge panel ruling that the Dakota Access Pipeline (the “DAPL”) is operating without a key federal permit. By denying the petition, the appeals court stood by its January decision, which upheld the […]
Almost immediately upon taking the oath of office, President Biden signed Executive Order No. 14008 (EO 14008 or EO). Among other actions, EO 14008 (available HERE) “paused” oil and natural gas development on federal public lands and in offshore waters of the United States. (See EO 14008 HERE). In response to EO 14008, fourteen states […]
The case cited below is a stark reminder to developers: make sure to hire experienced CEQA counsel before you embark on a development in California! On February 18, 2021, the California Second District Court of Appeal filed an unpublished opinion, Building a Better Redondo v. City of Redondo Beach (2021) Case No. B294328, 2021 WL […]
In April of 2021, the Willamette Riverkeeper and Columbia Riverkeeper, two environmental activist groups (“NGO”) filed a citizen suit in federal court against Zenith Energy Terminal Holdings, LLC (“Zenith”). The complaint alleges ongoing violations of the federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”) for pollutant discharges into waters of the United States, without a valid National Pollutant […]
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 […]
