FEATURE ARTICLE
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LAWSUITS FILED OR PENDING
State Attorneys General Challenge Trump Administration’s Revamp of the National Environmental Policy Act8
RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS
Circuit Court of Appeals:
Ninth Circuit Reject’s Claims that Environmental Review was Required of Prospective Mine Project after BLM Approved Mineral Exploration
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Chilkat Indian Village of Klukwan et al. v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management et al., Unpub., Case No. 19-35424 (Aug. 28, 2020).
Ninth Circuit Finds Project for Removal of Fire-Damaged Trees Did Not Fall within NEPA Categorical Exclusion for Road Repair13
Environmental Protection Information Center v. Carlson, 968 F.3d 985 (9th Cir. 2020).
RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS
Supreme Court:
California Supreme Court Holds County’s Blanket Classification of Well Construction Permit Issuances as Ministerial Violates CEQA15
Protecting Our Water and Environmental Resources v. County of Stanislaus, ___Cal.5th___, Case No. S. 251709 (Aug. 27, 2020).
District Court of Appeal:
Fourth District Court Finds Imperial Irrigation District Water Allocation Program Invalid but Not a ‘Taking’ of Water Rights17
Abatti v. Imperial Irrigation District, 52 Cal.App.5th 236 (4th Dist. 2020), as modified on denial of reh’g (Aug. 5, 2020), review filed (Aug. 24, 2020).
Sixth District Court Finds Cannabis Dispensary’s Violation of County Land Use Regulations Did Not Justify Seizure of State-Legal Plants19
Granny Purps v. County of Santa Cruz et al., ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. 16CV018999, (6th Dist. Aug. 5, 2020).
Third District Court Finds Placer County’s Action to Abandon Public Road Easement Relied on Incorrect EIR in Conducting Subsequent Review21
Martis Camp Community Association v. County of Placer, 53 Cal.App.5th 569 (3rd Dist. 2020).
Third District Court Finds Moot CEQA–Land Use Challenge to Building Permit for Already Completed Storage Facility Expansion23
Parkford Owners for a Better Community v. County of Placer, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. C087824 (3rd Dist. Aug. 26, 2020).
Third District Court Affirms State Water Board’s Authority to Regulate Unreasonable Water Use through Emergency Regulations and Curtailment Orders25
Stanford Vina Ranch Irrigation Company v. State of California, 50 Cal.App.5th 976 (3rd Dist. 2020).
First District Court Finds County Authority Complied with CEQA for Waste Composting Facility at Existing Transfer Station28
Stein et al. v. Alameda County Waste Management Authority, Case No. A154804, Unpub. (1st Dist. Aug. 17, 2020).
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE30
