LAND USE NEWS
Reduction of Hydropower Electricity Generation Caused by California’s Drought Has Led to Millions of Tons of Additional Greenhouse Gas Emissions215
L.A. Department of Water and Power Water System Seismic Resilience and Sustainability Program Estimated to Cost Roughly $15 Billion over 20
Years. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
Federal Emergency Management Agency Mandates State Grant Recipients to Plan for Climate Change Impacts218
California High Speed Rail Authority Issues Project Update Report to the State Legislature219
California Department of Water Resources Releases Draft Strategic Plan for Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Implementation221
LAWSUITS FILED OR PENDING
Mojave Solar Project Lawsuit Heats up with Motion for Preliminary Injunction225
RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS
Supreme Court:
U.S. Supreme Court Declines Review of Army Corps’ Wetlands Determination226
Kent Recycling Services, LLC v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Case No. 14-493 (Mar. 23, 2015).
Circuit Court of Appeals:
Ninth Circuit Widens Circuit Split in Broadening Judges’ Discretion to Allocate Settlement Payments in CERCLA Cases228
AmeriPride Services, Inc. v. Texas Eastern Overseas, ___F.3d___, Case No. 12-17245 (9th Cir. Apr. 2, 2015).
District Court:
District Court Dismisses Tribe’s Claim that the Secretary of the Interior Improperly Terminated Tribal Rancheria230
The Mishewal Wappo Tribe of Alexander Valley v. Jewell, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 5:09-cv-02502-EJD (N.D. Cal. Mar. 23, 2015).
RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS
District Court of Appeal:
Second District Court Gets Right to the Point—Liability for a Polluted Lake Falls Squarely on the Shoulders of Those Landowners Whose Property Includes the Lake and Lakebed232
Conway v. State Water Resources Control Board, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. B252688 (2nd Dist. Mar. 30, 2015).
Third District Court Concludes that Two Agreements Entered into by a Former Redevelopment Agency Are Enforceable234
County of Sonoma v. Cohen, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. C075120 (3rd Dist. Mar. 12, 2015).
Fourth District Court Overturns Trial Court Judgment Prohibiting Project within the Foothill/Trabuco
Specific Plan from Moving forward on CEQA
Grounds235
Saddleback Canyons Conservancy v. County of Orange, Unpub., Case No. G049040 (4th Dist. Mar. 11, 2015).
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE238