The Interior Department’s internal watchdog has absolved Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke after an examination of his handling of a controversial national monuments review. In a report summary dated Nov. 21, Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall said investigators “found no evidence” that a former Utah state representative who owned property within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument […]
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke ordered the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to review federal conservation efforts of the greater sage grouse Wednesday. Zinke wanted the federal government to be “a good neighbor” and certify that officials in 11 Western states were fully consulted about the conservation program, according to the Associated Press. The […]
Mitchell Chadwick LLP sponsored the Placer Land Trust’s 2018 Placer Conservator Dinner, Awards & Live Auction night this year, held on November 15th at the Ridge Golf Club in Auburn. Mitchell Chadwick LLP hosted guests Troy Caldwell (White Wolf Ski Resort) and Tim DeGraff (Resource Environmental Solutions LLC) at the event, which honored Daryl and […]
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Weyerhaeuser v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”). This case could have far-reaching implications curbing federally-designated critical habitat designations by the USFWS. At the heart of this case is the USFWS’ 2012 decision to designate 1,500 acres of private land in Louisiana owned by Markle […]
Ryan Zinke, secretary of the Interior Department, has been a key figure in the Trump administration’s push to roll back burdensome environmental regulations and ramp up domestic energy production. Mr. Zinke is facing increased scrutiny based on allegations that he abused travel spending by paying for his wife to travel with him, and maintained close […]
On September 24, 2018, the 6th Circuit issued rulings in two cases over the question of how direct a connection there must be between the source of pollution and waters that were allegedly polluted for the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) to apply. The 6th Circuit rulings created a split in the circuits on issue of […]
The Waters of the United States Rule (“WOTUS Rule”) implemented under the Obama administration in 2015 has gone through much back and forth since the beginning. Numerous states and industry groups sued to stop implementation of the WOTUS Rule in 2015. The Sixth Circuit consolidated various challenges and issued a nationwide stay of the WOTUS […]
September 4, 2018 | Category:
NewsOn Monday, Dow Agrosciences acted in its capacity as an intervenor in National Family Farm Coalition v. US EPA to dismiss a lawsuit filed by environmental groups alleging the US EPA improperly improved Dow’s weed killer, Enlist Duo. Dow argued the case couldn’t be pursued on grounds ranging from procedural (the groups’ petition for review […]
This month, the Trump administration moved forward with a plan to unravel aggressive federal emissions and fuel economy standards. The EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a joint statement Thursday unveiling their plan to replace those standards with something much more lax. Automakers have argued since the passage of the more stringent standards […]
A U.S. District Court in Northern California reinstated protections for the bi-state sage grouse in California and Nevada. Environmental groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity and the Western Watersheds Project had filed a motion against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for withdrawing the bi-state distinct population of greater sage groups as a […]
