REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
California Air Resources Board Adopts Regional Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets for Automobile and Light Trucks Pursuant to Senate Bill 3753
Northern California Water Agencies and Counties form Joint Powers Authority to Pursue Development of Sites Reservoir5
RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS
Circuit Court of Appeals:
Ninth Circuit Upholds Critical Habitat Designation for 15 Vernal Pool Species Listed under the Endangered Species Act7
Home Builders Association of Northern California v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ___ F.3d ___, Case No. 07-16732 (9th Cir. Aug. 9, 2010)
Ninth Circuit Upholds U.S. Forest Service’s Logging Project to Reduce Insect Kill and Wildfire Risks within Forest Reserve9
League of Wilderness Defenders-Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project v. Allen, ___F.3d___, Case No. 09-35094 (9th Cir. Aug. 13, 2010).
Ninth Circuit Holds the Endangered Species Act Does Not Prohibit ‘Taking’ of Plant Species in a Privately-Owned Wetland11
Northern California River Watch v. Wilcox, ___F.3d___, Case No. 08-15780 (9th Cir. Aug. 25, 2010).
Ninth Circuit Holds Failure to Geothermal Lease Extensions under NEPA Need Not Invalidate Underlying Lease ‘Capable of Extension’13
Pit River Tribe v. U.S. Forest Service, ___F.3d___, Case No. 09-15385 (9th Cir. Aug. 2, 2010).
Ninth Circuit Finds Property Owner Is Liable for Cleanup Costs under CERCLA at the Time Cleanup Costs Are Incurred, Not when a Cost-Recovery Lawsuit Is Filed15
State of California Department of Toxic Substances Control v. Hearthside Residential Corporation, ___F.3d___, Case No. 09-55389 (9th Cir. July 22, 2010).
RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS
District Court of Appeal:
Fifth District Finds Petitioners Who Obtained Prior Supreme Court Ruling Merely Clarifying the Law Are Not Entitled to Attorney’s Fees17
Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch et al. v. California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. F058062 (5th Dist. Aug. 10, 2010).
First District Finds County Properly Approved Coastal Permit and Use Permit for Residential Project Despite Reduced Setback19
Hines v. California Coastal Commission, et al., 186 Cal.App.4th 830 (1st Dist. 2010).
Second District Upholds City’s Win against Its Former Consultant for Unlawful Conflicts of Interest in the City’s Waste Collection Franchise21
Hub City Solid Waste Services, Inc. v. City of Compton, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. BC323801 (2nd Dist. 2010).
Fourth District Reinforces California’s Permissive Laws Governing Medical Marijuana Dispensaries . .24
Qualified Patients Association, et al. v. City of Anaheim, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. G07CC09524 (4th Dist. Aug. 18, 2010).
Fourth District Rejects Contention that the California PUC Must Consider Every Possible Project Alternative and Permutation before Project Approval26
Utility Consumers’ Action Network v. California Public Utilities Commission, ___Cal.App.4th___ Case No. D055666 (4th Dist. Aug. 17, 2010).
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE29
