Barrick Gold Corp. proposed a merger with Newmont Mining Corp. based on an unsolicited, all-share deal. The offer values Newmont at $17.85 billion and would combine the world’s two largest gold mining companies. Barrick argues that the merger will allow the company to trim costs while combined assets, especially in Nevada, will open up additional […]
In a joint statement released on Thursday, the White House, Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the Trump administration has ended negotiations with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) over vehicle fuel-efficiency standards. Until Thursday, the EPA, CARB, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had been engaged in talks […]
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently reported that oil and natural gas lease sales produced more than $1.1 billion in 2018, shattering the previous record of $408 billion in 2008. The revenue was generated by 28 sales amounting to around 1,412 parcels of land and covering about 1.5 million acres. The BLM offers lease […]
The below excerpt from Scotusblog can be found HERE. The Clean Water Act bars the discharge of any pollutant into “navigable waters” without a permit. In its lone grant on today’s order list, the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether a violation of the CWA occurs only when a pollutant is released directly into navigable […]
On December 28, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) published a revised Waters of the U.S. (“WOTUS”) to clarify the scope of waters federally regulated under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). The proposed rule is open for a 60-day comment period. The proposed rule is intended to […]
The Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld application of a Class 1 categorical exemption for a restated facilities lease in the case San Diegans for Open Government v. City of San Diego (2018) 31 Cal.App.5th 349. The case also addressed whether the lease violated city-specific requirements and found that it did not. The lease at […]
Bowing to the reality of delays, out-of-control costs, and accusations of corruption, payback, and favoritism, California Governor Gavin Newsom reversed former Governor Jerry Brown’s steadfast support of the doomed rail system in his first State of the State speech on February 12, 2019. Newsom stated that the high-speed rail project (a saga which began with […]
President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on Friday that would make a total of $8 billion available to construct a southern border wall in the face of the immigration crisis. Trump has repeatedly threatened to declare such an emergency over the last few months and said he was “not happy” with the $1.375 billion […]
In a January 16, 2019 decision made public this past Wednesday, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) sustained Bristol Environmental Remediation Services, Inc.’s (“Bristol”) bid protest, ruling that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) unfairly rejected Bristol’s proposal for an environmental cleanup and munitions response contract. Despite presenting the cheapest proposal among the other […]
Colorado mineral owners filed a federal lawsuit against the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (the “COGCC”) this past Wednesday, asserting that the COGCC’s authority to allow companies to drill on objecting residents’ land is unconstitutional. Colorado Rising, the activist group backing the lawsuit, recently suffered defeat of its November ballot measure that would have […]
