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News Articles

Council on Environmental Quality Rescinds Trump Administration Draft Guidance that Limited the Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions During Environmental Reviews under NEPA

By Patrick Veasy and Hina Gupta On February 19, 2021, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) rescinded the Trump administration-issued draft guidance, which would have…

Read More 2021-05-03

Religious Organizations and Real Property Taxes: The First District Court of Appeal Reverses the Trial Court’s Application of the Property Taxation Exemption to a Church with Respect to a ‘Special Tax’

By Boyd Hill The California Court of Appeal for the First District, in Valley Baptist Church v. City of San Rafael, held that a church…

Read More 2021-05-03

The Pitfalls of Water Rights Reporting to the State Water Resources Control Board

By Jeanne Zolezzi If you divert and use water from a surface water source, California law requires you to report your diversion and use to…

Read More 2021-05-03

U.S. Supreme Court Finds FOIA’s Deliberative Process Exemption Protected Draft Biological Opinions from Public Disclosure

By James Purvis The Sierra Club brought a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) action against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National…

Read More 2021-05-03

California Court of Appeal Upholds Adoption of Voter Initiative, Finding the Initiative Did Not Require a Two-Thirds Majority to Pass

By James Purvis Plaintiffs sued to invalidate “Proposition C,” an initiative entitled “Universal Childcare for San Francisco Families Initiative,” on the ground that it required…

Read More 2021-03-23

D.C. Circuit Vacates Federal Easement Awarded to Dakota Access Pipeline, Finding U.S. Army Corps Violated NEPA By Failing to Prepare an EIS

By Bridget McDonald In Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found…

Read More 2021-03-23

D.C. Circuit Finds that the Flexible Ozone Offsets Program Not Authorized under the Clean Air Act

By Deborah Quick Congress sought to diminish state discretion to regulate six specific air pollutants by its 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act. Those…

Read More 2021-03-23

U.S. District Court Dismisses Clean Water Act Citizen Suit for Failure to Show an Environmental Injury to Establish Standing

By Geremy Holm and Rebecca Andrews The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia recently granted a motion to dismiss a Clean Water…

Read More 2021-03-23

California State Water Resources Control Board Adopts New Order Establishing Statewide Waste Discharge Requirements for Wineries

By Wesley A. Miliband and Kristopher T. Strouse On January 20, 2021, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB or Board) voted unanimously in favor…

Read More 2021-03-23

Oregon Court of Appeals Rules that Klamath Basin General Stream Adjudication is the Only Viable Avenue for Judicial Review of Water Rights Issues within the Basin

By Stephen Odell The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that water rights holders could not independently secure judicial review, outside the statutory process prescribed for…

Read More 2021-03-23