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News Articles

State Water Resources Control Board Releases Final Scientific Basis Report for Phase II Update of the Bay-Delta Plan

The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) is updating the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (Bay-Delta Plan). Currently,…

Read More 2017-12-03

State Water Resources Control Board Adopts Order on Long-Term Management of Salton Sea

The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) recently announced that it had accepted a “landmark” agreement defining the state’s commitment to restore and manage…

Read More 2017-12-03

California’s Proposed Wetlands Definition and Procedures for the Discharge of Dredged or Fill Materials to ‘Waters of the State’ Expected to Have Widespread Implications

Since June 2016, the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has been working to develop a state wetlands definition, as well as revised procedures…

Read More 2017-11-15

U.S. District Court Finds Seller of Property Liable as CERCLA Arranger For Response Costs and Punitive Damages

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, on remand, recently found that corporate defendants intentionally sold buildings contaminated with polychlorinated bipehnyls (PCBs)…

Read More 2017-11-15

Tenth Circuit Strikes Down GHG Emissions Analysis Completed By Bureau of Land Management For Major Coal Leases In Wyoming

On September 15, 2017, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeal issued an opinion reversing the decision of the U.S District Court to uphold four coal…

Read More 2017-11-15

Senate Bill 150-—California Takes Steps to Address the Land Use-Transportation Challenge in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

On October 10, 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 150 (Allen), which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by strengthening state…

Read More 2017-11-15

Recent Scientific Studies on Climate Change

Severe Turbulence on Flights May Increase Dramatically due to Climate Change Turbulence accounts for the majority of weather-related accidents on flights. Clear-air turbulence (CAT) occurs…

Read More 2017-11-15

No Vote Instead of Voting ‘No’—California First District Court of Appeal Affirms Rejection of Referendum on City’s Sale of Property for Hotel Project

Entitlement lawyers can toil for months if not years in getting a project lined up, application submitted, and approvals passed by the applicable local agency.…

Read More 2017-11-15

California First District Court of Appeal Upholds State Water Board’s Substitute Environmental Document For Maintaining Instream Flows In Coastal Streams

The First District Court of Appeal rejected a challenge to the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) approval of a policy designed to maintain instream…

Read More 2017-11-15

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Completes Reinitiated Consultation on the 2008 Delta Smelt Biological Opinion and Associated Incidental Take for the 2017 Water Year

On September 27, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) completed reinitiated consultation in relation to proposed modifications to Fall X2 for 2017 under §…

Read More 2017-11-15