News

Santa Barbara Awarded a $10 Million Desalination Grant

The City of Santa  Barbara has been awarded a $10 million grant by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to offset the $72 million cost of reactivating the Charles E. Meyer Desalination Plant. The plant came back online to supply water to city customers in May 2017. It provides an important source of drought-proof […]

Californians fed up with housing costs and taxes are fleeing state in big numbers

From CNBC: Californians fed up with housing costs and taxes are fleeing state in big numbers Californians may still love the beautiful weather and beaches, but more and more they are fed up with the high housing costs and taxes and deciding to flee to lower-cost states such as Nevada, Arizona and Texas. “There’s nowhere in the United States that you […]

Slim Outlook for Water Storage Project Approval by Water Commission

Over 3 years ago, state voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 1, a $7.5 billion bond measure to pay for new water projects, $3 billion of which was intended to be set aside for reservoirs and other water-storage projects. The funding is directed to projects that fulfill the following benefits: ecosystem improvements, water quality improvements, flood control, […]

True? California ranks 49th in per capita housing supply

At a forum on March 8, 2018 in Sacramento, Newsom said California must break down barriers to building because it ranks “49th out of 50 in the United States in per capita housing units. Only Utah can lay claim to being lowest in per capita production.” “California ranks 49th among the 50 US states for […]

Bussard v. City of Santa Rosa: First District Upholds Small Infill Project as Consistent With General Plan in Unpublished Opinion

In an unpublished opinion, Bussard v. City of Santa Rosa, the First District Court of Appeal upheld the City’s approval of a small infill housing project. (Case No. A148882, Feb. 6, 2018.) Project opponents argued that the development violated the Santa Rosa General Plan and the Santa Rosa City Code. The trial court denied the […]

Little Hoover Commission Report on California Forests

The Little Hoover Commission released its report, “Rethinking Forest Management in the Sierra Nevada.” In this report, the Commission recommends a series of actions to address the crisis surrounding California’s forests. Poor management policies that interrupted the natural and historical cycle of fire, combined with a changing climate, have left forests in California vulnerable to […]

California Legislation AB 1905: The Road to Construction without Environmental Roadblocks

Proposed Assembly Bill (“AB”) 1905 by Assemblyman Tim Grayson aims to make it harder for lawsuits filed under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) to stop construction of roads and public transit. This legislation is specifically aimed at the road or transit projects that are included in state-approved regional growth plans. These projects have already […]

February 2018 Environmental Law Policy Report

Mitchell Chadwick LLP Monthly Report February 2018 Safer Consumer Products. DTSC has proposed listing paint and varnish strippers that contain methylene chloride as a priority product under the safer consumer products program. U.S. EPA recently moved the proposed federal rule addressing certain uses of methylene chloride, TCE and NMP from active to long term action […]

FERC Issues Final Rule to Encourage Energy Storage Participation in Energy Markets

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a final rule on February 15, 2018, aimed at increasing participation of energy storage sources in organized wholesale electric markets. The final rule, Order No. 841, requires Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs) to develop a new “participation model” that includes electric storage resources. The […]

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