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California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter

November 2013

Volume 23, Number 2 November 2013

LAND USE NEWS

Governor Brown Signs Senate Bill 4, Regulating ‘Fracking’ and Calling for CEQA Review of the Practice35

Governor Brown Signs Senate Bill 743—Enacting Several Changes to CEQA for Very Specific Project Types36

Solano County Spearheads First Eagle Conservation Effort for a Wind Energy Project37

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

EPA and U.S. Army Corps Propose New Regulations Defining Federal Jurisdiction under Sections 402 and 404 of the Clean Water Act39

California DWR Awards $91.8 Million in Stormwater Flood Management Grants to Local Public Agencies41

RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS

Circuit Court of Appeals:

Ninth Circuit Holds Insurer’s Duty to Defend Alleged Soil and Groundwater Contamination Triggered by EPA’s CERCLA Information Request43

Anderson Brothers, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co., ___F.3d___, Case Nos. 12-35346, 35454 (9th Cir. Aug. 30, 2013).

Ninth Circuit Finds California Air Resources Board’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Passes Constitutional Muster45

Rocky Mountain Farmers Union v. Corey, ___ F.3d ___, Case No. 12-15131, (9th Cir. Sept. 18, 2013).

Ninth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Granting of Summary Judgment Involving Various Discrimination Claims against City Ordinance Applicable to Group Homes47

Pacific Shores Properties, LLC v. City of Newport Beach, ___F.3d___, Case Nos. 11-55460 & 11-55461 (9th Cir. Sept. 20, 2013).

RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS

District Court of Appeal:

Second District’s Decision—Delayed By Supreme Court Review—Allows Los Angeles to Implement an Ordinance Regulating Medical Marijuana Collect-

ives49

420 Caregivers, LLC v. City of Los Angeles, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. B230436 (2nd Dist. Sept. 25, 2013).

Second District Finds Mere Mention of ‘Environmental Concerns’ in Letter to Housing Complex Insufficient to Put Residents on Notice of Health Risks51

Alexander v. Exxon Mobil, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. B242458 (Cal.App. Sept. 24, 2013) .

Second District Finds Siting Decision Is Not Subject to Antidiscrimination Statute, but Holds that Delayed Request for CEQA Hearing Is Excusable Error54

Comunidad en Accion v. Los Angeles City Council, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. B240554 (2nd Dist. Sept. 20, 2013).

Second District Holds that California and Cal-EPA May Not Legally Be Liable for Septic Ban Imposed on Landowner by State Water Boards56

Lavine v. State of California, Unpub., Case No. B238030 (2nd Dist. 2013).

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE58