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News Articles

The Ghosts of Redevelopment Linger California—Third District Court of Appeal Strikes Down City’s Attempt to Preserve Redevelopment Funding

In the aftermath of the Great Recession the California state government was scrounging for funding anywhere it could find it. One target in particular turned…

Read More 2017-07-06

California’s Third District Court of Appeal Holds City Cannot Use Redevelopment Funds to Pay Revenue Bond Debt

The Third District Court of Appeal has held that the City of Santa Maria cannot use redevelopment funds to pay bond debt because the redevelopment…

Read More 2017-07-06

California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal Upholds Referendum Challenging Zoning Change

The wave of populism that gave California the initiative and referendum continues to reverberate in local land use issues. Something as routine as a rezoning…

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Draft Program Environmental Impact Report For California Statewide Cannabis Licensing Program Released For Public Review and Comment

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) released a Draft Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) on June 15, 2017, in accordance with the California…

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California Superior Court Strikes Down Regulation Setting Hexavalent Chromium Levels in Drinking Water

In a decision that could have wide implications for water purveyors throughout the State of California, the Sacramento Superior Court recently ordered the State Water…

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service Issue Biological Opinions regarding California WaterFix ‘Tunnels Project’

On June 23, 2017, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued their respective Biological Opinions (BiOps) for the…

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California Assembly Bill 313 Proposes Transfer of Water Rights Enforcement Hearings from the State Water Resources Control Board to a New Entity

On May 30, 2017, a sizeable majority of the California State Assembly passed Assembly Bill 313 (AB 313) to establish a new Water Rights Division…

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U.S. District Court Refuses to Force Department of the Interior to Complete Six-Year NEPA Review of Regulation Exempting Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration and Development

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI or Interior) regulations provide a categorical exclusion from environmental review for offshore oil and gas exploration and development.…

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D.C. Circuit Finds Clean Water Act Does Not Expressly Preempt EPA’s Ability to Withhold Data in the Face of a FOIA Request

Within the context of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) September 2009 decision to revise its decades-old regulations limiting pollution by steam-electric power plants—EPA obtained…

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Exxon Shareholders Demand Disclosure of Climate Change Impacts on Investments

ExxonMobil (Exxon), the world’s largest oil company, conducted an historic shareholders’ vote at the company’s annual meeting on May 31, 2017. With 62 percent of…

Read More 2017-07-06