CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS
President Obama Outlines New Salton Sea Initiatives and Stepping Up Federal Commitment to Protection and Preservation123
California Cap-and-Trade Expenditure Plan Invests in Clean Energy and Disadvantaged Communities124
Environmental Groups File Notices of Intent to Sue Targeting Government Agencies for Alleged Endangered Species Act Violations126
CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE
Recent Scientific Studies on Climate Change128
PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS
Recent Investigations, Settlements, Penalties, and Sanctions130
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
California Air Resources Board Scoping Plan Looks beyond SB 375 for Transportation and Land Use Sector Reductions133
LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS
Summary of California Climate Change Related Bills135
California Again Blazing Trail on Greenhouse Gas Reduction Commitments, Compliance with Passage of SB 32 and AB 197137
California Assembly Bill 2087 Promotes Voluntary, Local Conservation Measures, with an Eye to Climate Change Resiliency138
South Coast Air Board Will Not Be Expanded to Include ‘Environmental Justice’ Members as Senate Bill 1387 Fails to Pass in the Assembly139
RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS
Circuit Court of Appeals:
D.C. Circuit Finds It Cannot ‘Rescue’ the Federal Government from Overpayment of CERCLA Remediation Costs that Were Made via Contractual Agreement141
Lockheed Martin Corporation v. U.S., ___F.3d___, Case No. 14-5302 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 19, 2016).
D.C. Circuit Holds that EPA’s Clean Air Act Implementation Rule Was a Reasonable Exercise of EPA’s Gap-Filling Authority143
WildEarth Guardians, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ___F.3d___, Case No. 14-1145 (D.C. Cir. July 29, 2016).
RECENT STATE DECISIONS
California Court of Appeal Holds Air Quality Receptor Thresholds may Have Limited Application in CEQA Analyses.145
California Building Industry Association v. Bay Area Air Quality Management District, 2 Cal.App.5th 485 (1st Dist. 2016).