CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS
U.S. Government Accountability Office Accepts Study on the ‘Social Cost’ of Carbon Calculations127
Senate Bill that Would Have Mandated Renewal Energy Portfolios Including Geothermal Generated-Energy and Funding for the Salton Sea Fails to Advance Out of the California Legislature129
CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE
Recent Scientific Studies on Climate Change131
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
EPA Issues Formal Comment Letter Regarding California’s Bay Delta Conservation Plan Draft EIS—Finds It Likely Will Violate Federal Law134
California Air Resources Board Indicates Regulation of Transportation Fuels to Cap-and-Trade Program Will Proceed as Scheduled135
Proposed CEQA Guideline Would Replace ‘Level of Service’ Measurements with New ‘Vehicle Miles Traveled’ Measurements in Analyzing Project Traffic Impacts137
PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS
Recent Investigations, Settlements, Penalties, and Sanctions139
JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS
Federal:
Ninth Circuit Holds Diesel Particulate Emissions from Railyards Do Not Constitute a ‘Disposal’ of Solid Waste under RCRA142
Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, et al. v. BNSF Railway Company, ___F.3d___ Case No. 12-56086 (9th Cir. Aug. 20, 2014).
Ninth Circuit Holds Power Company Must Comply with New Clean Air Act Regulations Despite EPA’s Prejudicial Delay in Approving Permit144
Sierra Club, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ___F.3d___, Case Nos. 11–73342, 11–73356 (9th Cir. Aug. 12, 2014).
Tenth Circuit Rules that the Duty to Consult under the Federal Endangered Species Act Does Not Extend to an Agency Decision Not to Act146
WildEarth Guardians v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ___F.3d___, Case No. 13-9524 (10th Cir. July 23, 2014).
District Court Affirms Associational Standing in RCRA Suit Despite Standing Witnesses’ Lack of Voting Rights148
Citizens Coal Council v. Matt Canestrale Contracting, Inc., ___F.Supp.2d___, Case No. 13-896 (W.D. Penn. Aug. 22, 2014).
State:
California Supreme Court Holds that Citizen Sponsored Land Use Initiatives Are Not Subject to California Environmental Quality Act150
Tuolumne Jobs & Small Business Alliance v. Superior Court, 59 Cal.4th 1029 (2014).
New Jersey Appellate Court Orders State Board
of Public Utilities to Reconsider Offshore Wind Project152
In the Matter of The Petition of Fishermen’s Atlantic City Wind Farm, LLC for the Approval of the State Waters Project and Authorizing Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificates, Case No. A-003932-13T3 (N.J.App.Div. Aug. 8, 2014).
