LAND USE NEWS
Council for Environmental Quality Issues Draft Guidelines on How to Address Greenhouse Gas Emissions in NEPA Documents123
California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014 Fails to Pass in U.S.
Senate125
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
California Water Boards and the State Department of Fish and Wildlife to Implement Regulatory Program For Marijuana Cultivation127
San Francisco PUC and San Mateo County Agencies Finalize Long-Term Groundwater Management Plan for Bay Area Groundwater Basin128
LAWSUITS FILED OR PENDING
Working on the Railroad? Federal Preemption, CEQA and California’s High Speed Rail Project Prompt the California Supreme Court’s Grant of
Review130
RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS
Circuit Court of Appeals:
Ninth Circuit Upholds U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Environmental Analysis of Timber Project132
Conservation Congress v. Environmental Protection Information Center, ___F.3d___, Case No. 12-16916 (9th Cir. Dec. 16, 2014).
Ninth Circuit Upholds Biological Opinion Regarding Impacts of Central Valley Project and State Water Project Operations on Salmonid Species134
San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority v. Locke, ___F.3d___, Case No. 12-15144 (9th Cir. Dec. 22, 2014).
D.C. Circuit Holds that the Lead in Spent Bullets and Shot Is Not Subject to EPA Regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act136
Trumpeter Swan Society, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, et al., ___F.3d___, Case No. 13-5228 (D.C. Cir. Dec. 23, 2014).
District Court:
District Court Dismisses Citizen Suit against the Army Corps for Mootness Relating to Flood Control
Project138
Finca Santa Elena Inc. et al v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers et al, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 1:11-cv-00296 (D. D.C. Jan. 6, 2015).
RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS
District Court of Appeal:
First District Court Holds Substantial Evidence Supports Agency’s Decision to Certify Nonindustrial Timber Management Plan140
Center for Biological Diversity v. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. A138914 (1st Dist. Dec. 30, 2014).
Fifth District Court Considers Scope of Mining Board’s Authority to Review Reclamation Plans and the Use of Conservation Easements to Mitigate the Loss of Farmland142
Friends of the Kings River v. County of Fresno, 232 Cal.App.4th 105 (5th Dist. 2014).
Fourth District Court Affirms Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s Discretion in Issuing License for Retail Location143
Nick v. City of Lake Forest, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. G047115 (4th Dist. Dec. 23, 2014).
Second District Court Holds Change in Project Height Required Supplemental Environmental Impact Report Pursuant to CEQA145
Ventura Foothill Neighbors v. County of Ventura, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. B254120 (2nd Dist. Dec. 15, 2014).
