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News Articles

Ninth Circuit Vacates Judgement Requiring Clean Water Act Citizen Suit to Prove Ongoing Discharge in Case Alleging Monitoring Violations

By Carl Jones and Rebecca Andrews The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, on September 20, 2021, vacated a U.S. District court’s grant of partial summary…

Read More 2021-11-06

Biden Administration Begins Process of Reversing Trump-Era Amendments to NEPA Regulations—CEQ Releases Proposed Rule

By Deborah Quick The Bident administration has begun the process of reversing various Trump administration amendments to regulations governing agencies’ implementation the National Environmental Policy…

Read More 2021-11-06

California Passes Three Key Housing Bills this Legislative Year to Streamline CEQA Review for Certain Housing Projects

By Madeline Weisman and Hina Gupta In the current legislative year, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed over 30 legislations  to fight California’s ongoing housing crisis by…

Read More 2021-11-06

U.S. Supreme Court Finds ‘Finality Requirement’ for Regulatory Takings Claim Does Not Require Exhaustion of State Administrative Remedies

By Bridget McDonald The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a unanimous per curium opinion in Pakdel v. City and County of San Francisco holding that…

Read More 2021-09-12

California Court of Appeal Affirms Coastal Commission’s Coastal Bluff Setback Requirement Considering Factors of Safety and Life of the Project

By Boyd Hill The Fourth District Court of Appeal for California in Gary Martin v. California Coastal Commission reaffirmed its determination in Lindstrom v. California…

Read More 2021-09-11

U.S. District Court Applies the Clean Water Act ‘Functional Equivalent’ Standard Set Forth by the U.S. Supreme Court

By Ana Schwab and Rebecca Andrews To determine if the County of Maui required a federal Clean Water Act permit, the U.S. District Court for…

Read More 2021-09-11

U.S. Supreme Court Holds Natural Gas Act Authorizes FERC ‘Certified’ Pipeline Project Companies to Seize State-Owned Land through Federally Granted Eminent Domain Authority

By Bridget McDonald In a narrow five-to-four decision, the U.S. Supreme Court in Penneast Pipeline Co., LLC v. New Jersey has held that the Natural Gas…

Read More 2021-09-11

California State Water Resources Control Board Implements Emergency Water Reporting and Curtailment Regulations in Light of Historic Drought

By Wesley A. Miliband and Kristopher T. Strouse At its August 3, 2021 Public Meeting, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) considered…

Read More 2021-09-11

Eighth Circuit Finds Fugitive Emissions from Certain Coal Storage Deemed Outside the Reach of the Clean Air Act New Source Performance Standards

By Allison Smith The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the lower court decision in Voight v. Coyote Creek Mining Company, LLC, holding that…

Read More 2021-07-29

U.S. Supreme Court Determines Contribution Action Under CERCLA Section 113(F) Requires Settlement of CERCLA Liability—Not Clean Water Act Liability

By Heraclio Pimentel and Rebecca Andrews The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that a party may seek contribution under Subsection 113(f)(3)(B) of the Comprehensive Environmental…

Read More 2021-07-29