FEATURE ARTICLE
The California State Water Resources Control Board Approves Emergency Regulations for Water Right Curtailment Orders in Scott and Shasta Rivers by Austin C. Cho, Esq., Downey Brand, LLP, Sacramento, Califor
nia355
ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
Drought Stricken California State Water Project’s Lake Oroville Plummets to Lowest Level in Decades359
CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE
Recent Scientific Studies on Climate Change360
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Staff to Draft Mandatory Climate Risk Disclosure Rules for Release by the End of 2021363
California State Water Resources Control Board Implements Emergency Water Reporting and Curtailment Regulations in Light of Historic
Drought364
PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS
Recent Investigations, Settlements, Penalties and Sanctions366
RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS
U.S. Supreme Court:
First Circuit Upholds Massachusetts’ State Law Enforcement as Barring Clean Water Act Citizen Suit but Requires All Operators On-Site to Obtain NPDES Permits373
Blackstone Headwaters Coalition, Inc. v. Gallo Builders, Inc., 995 F.3d 274 (1st Cir. 2021).
Circuit Court of Appeals:
Ninth Circuit Finds that the FAA Violated NEPA By Failing to Analyze Environmental Impacts of New Airport Approach Routes375
City of Los Angeles v. Dickson, Unpub., Case No. 18-71581, (9th Cir. July 8, 2021).
Third Circuit Addresses Pollutant Releases Above the Permitted Amounts and Reporting Requirements under CERCLA376
Clean Air Council v. United States Steel Corporation, ___F.4th___, Case No. 20-2215 (3rd Cir. June 21, 2021).
Fourth Circuit Finds State Agency Did Not Waive Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification378
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 3 F.4th 655 (4th Cir. 2021).
District Court:
District Court Pulls the Plug on California Restaurant Association’s Challenge to City’s Ban on Natural Gas Infrastructure in New Construction380
California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley, ___F.4th___, Case No. 4:19-cv-07668-YGR (N.D. Cal. July 6, 202).
District Court Applies Clean Water Act ‘Functional Equivalent’ Standard Set Forth by the U.S. Supreme Court382
Hawai’i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui, ___F.Supp.3d___, Case No. 12-00198 (D. HI July 26, 2021).
RECENT STATE DECISIONS
California Court of Appeal Affirms State Coastal Commission’s Coastal Bluff Setback Requirement Considering Factors of Safety and Life of the Pro
ject385
Martin v. California Coastal Commission, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. D076956 (4th Dist. June 13, 2021).
