News

Interior Department Initiates Process to Develop Future Guidelines and Strategies for Protecting the Colorado River

From the Department of Interior: The Department of the Interior today announced that it is initiating the formal process to develop future operating guidelines and strategies to protect the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River. The new guidelines will replace the 2007 Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and the Coordinated Operations for Lake […]

Biden Administration’s New Power Plant Regulation: Third Time’s the Charm?

The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is making yet another attempt (its third) to regulate carbon emissions from power plants with a new proposal, looking to target the electric power sector that is responsible for 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Previous attempts by prior administrations failed, but the Biden administration is […]

IN MEMORIAM: Charles Wilkinson – A Trailblazer for Justice, the Earth, and American Indian Law

Natural Resources Law lost a giant last week with the passing of our friend, colleague, and mentor to natural resource lawyers, Charles Wilkinson at the University of Colorado Boulder.  From Mark Squillace at Getches-Wilkinson Center at CU: “Charles was, of course, a brilliant author and teacher, but for me, his most endearing quality was his […]

Gov. Newsom Takes a Half-Hearted Swipe at CEQA Delays

Opponents of development projects often weaponize review under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) to cause delay and increase costs for project developers in the hope of killing projects. On May 19, Gov. Newsom introduced a legislative package tackling two (of the many) offenders of the “CEQA bottleneck”: drawn-out administrative record preparation and lengthy legal […]

Reviving the ‘Just One Molecule’ Rule? Clean Water Act Permit Revoked Upon Newly Adopted Tribal Water Quality Standards

In March 2019, the U.S. Army Corps (“Corps”) issued a Clean Water Act, Section 404 (“CWA”) permit to PolyMet Mining Inc. (“PolyMet”) for an open-pit copper-nickel mine in Minnesota. CWA, Section 404, requires Corps authorization before any work involving placement of fill or discharge of dredged materials begins in any waters of the United States […]

SCOTUS to Reconsider Chevron Deference

On May 1, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to reconsider its ruling in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. In Chevron, the Court ruled that courts should defer to a federal agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute so long as that interpretation is reasonable. The case that may change (or at […]

Preservation Action Council of San Jose: CEQA Mitigation In The Concrete Jungle

The California Sixth District Court of Appeal recently considered the case of Preservation Action Council of San Jose v. City of San Jose.  There, the Preservation Action Council of San Jose (“PACSJ”) filed a petition challenging the City of San Jose’s certification of a final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (“SEIR”) for the City View Plaza […]

Sackett and the Supreme Court: Back to Basics or EPA’s Shrinking Jurisdiction?

To look at the headlines today, you might think the sky was falling and the United States was headed off into a ditch somewhere—all because of the United States Supreme Court.  Headlines proclaiming that the Supreme Court “delivered a blow to wetlands” (NBC News), “shrinks clean water protections” (The Guardian), “weakens clean water protections” (Vox) […]

California AG Rob Bonta Sues Elk Grove For Breaking Housing Law: ‘They Have Left Us No Choice’

California’s attorney general is suing the city of Elk Grove for denying a contentious affordable housing project in the city’s Old Town. “You can’t ignore the law because it doesn’t suit you,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Monday, adding later, “They’ve resisted the law time and time again. They have left us no choice.” […]

Contact Us

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.