August 26, 2019 | Category:
NewsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) released guidance on August 20, 2019 that relaxes some of the stricter guidance from 2016 with how to comply with the Clean Air Act Regional Haze Program. The Clean Air Act Regional Haze Program requires that states work together toward a goal of achieving “natural visibility conditions” at the […]
August 14, 2019 | Category:
NewsNew research shows that several of the region’s salmon populations are bumping into temperature limits. This includes the: Chinook salmon in California’s Central Valley and in the Columbia and Willamette River basins; Coho salmon in parts of Northern California and Oregon; and sockeye salmon that reach the Snake River Basin in Idaho. All of these […]
August 13, 2019 | Category:
NewsAt the end of July, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) reached a compromise with Ford Motor Company, Volkswagen AG, Honda Motor Company LTD., and BMW of North America to voluntarily increase fuel efficiency standards from 35 miles per gallon to approximately 50 miles per gallon by 2026. This represents an average increase of 3.7% […]
August 12, 2019 | Category:
NewsThe trade association Small Retailers Coalition filed a petition with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on August 6, 2019. The petition challenges the Trump administration’s decision to allow the sale of gasoline blends containing up to 15% ethanol all year, instead of seasonally. The petition highlights tensions between corn interests and oil interests, as […]
July 15, 2019 | Category:
NewsIn the unpublished opinion Center for Biological Diversity v. California Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources et al. (2019 WL 2133616), the Third District Court of Appeal upheld a program EIR prepared by the Department of Conservation to consider the environmental effects of well stimulation treatments, such as hydraulic fracturing. The […]
July 11, 2019 | Category:
NewsMitchell Chadwick attorneys G. Braiden Chadwick and John Wheat recently represented a client in a successful request for a determination of vested right to continue surface mining on a property in Merced County. The property, known as the Kelsey Ranch property, has been in the Kelsey family since the late 1800s, passed down from Erastus […]
June 21, 2019 | Category:
NewsUnder the Obama administration, the EPA finalized the Emissions Guidelines and New Source Performance Standards rules to address changes in the landfill industry since prior rulemaking in 1996. The EPA was supposed to approve plans from states related to the implementation of the emissions guidelines and create a federal plan but the Trump administration has […]
June 20, 2019 | Category:
NewsCalifornia’s Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery recently released a draft report recommending that California change its current liability standards relating to when utilities can be held responsible for wildfires. The report was called for by SB 901 which was enacted last year to address the escalating danger that wildfires present to California residents […]
June 19, 2019 | Category:
NewsU.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler recently signed a memorandum directing staff to develop plans to reform the process of evaluating the costs and benefits of new regulations. Wheeler specifically instructed the agency’s offices governing water, land, and air quality to identify ways to make the process of evaluating the costs and benefits […]
June 18, 2019 | Category:
NewsCompanies may be exposed to unexpected Superfund site cleanup costs beyond those agreed to in deals with the government. The Supreme Court granted review of a Montana Supreme Court’s decision that residents can sue BP America Ltd. for costs related to cleaning up their properties, even though the company already settled with the U.S. Environmental […]
