Rumors swirling around Washington D.C. indicate that the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) may release a statement rescinding the fairly recently published USFWS Service-Wide Mitigation policy and Endangered Species Act-Compensatory Mitigation Policy, without replacing either policy. Further, the agency may also take the position that, in the absence of further congressional directive, the DOI is […]
President Trump on Tuesday pardoned a pair of Oregon cattle ranchers who had been serving sentences for arson on federal land — sentences that set off the armed occupation of a wildlife refuge in 2016. Dwight L. Hammond, now 76, and his son, Steven D. Hammond, 49, became a cause célèbre that inspired an antigovernment […]
A federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit brought by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland against fossil fuel companies over the anticipated costs of dealing with future climate change. The decision should raise a warning for other local governments around the United States that have filed similar suits, including New York City. […]
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge M. Christina Armijo found that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) must set aside 13 oil and gas leases covering approximately 20,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest. Specifically, Judge Armijo found that BLM’s greenhouse gas analysis was insufficient, and set aside the BLM’s finding of no significant […]
On June 19, a California appellate court upheld LA County’s approval of a new 1,800 acre land-use plan, rejecting the argument that additional environmental assessment was warranted. The County approved the new plan as a “modification” to the existing 2015 Antelope Valley Area Plan, and stated that the changes weren’t significant enough to require an […]
This case involved the City of Santa Rosa’s approval of a CUP to convert a shuttered hospital center to a homeless youth and transitional housing center with about 50 to 60 beds. The center was sponsored and funded by a non-profit organization, which would also provide counseling and health services and recreational activities at the […]
City of Los Angeles voters approved measure HHH in 2016 to facilitate the construction of 10,000 units of permanent supporting housing to address the City’s homeless crises. The City Council followed-up in April 2018 by passing an ordinance which eliminates CEQA review for housing projects up to 120 units and that meet zoning requirements. The […]
On Tuesday (5/15/18), the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order vacating an incidental take permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a pipeline project. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline project, backed by Dominion Energy, involves a 600-mile pipeline for natural gas. The proposed route starts in West Virginia and ends in […]
On May 29, a federal judge in California dismissed an environmental group’s lawsuit accusing the U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, of improperly approving a forest-thinning project. The group argued that the project would imperil gray wolves and northern spotted owls; the former is endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, while […]
A group of states, including California and New York, asked a federal judge this week to invalidate the US EPA’s recent choice to delay implementing an Obama-era update to the Clean Water Rule, arguing that the agency failed to follow proper notice-and-comment protocol when delaying the rule’s application. The rule, to be implemented by EPA […]
