Civil Procedure, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use

The Direction of CEQA “Reform” Under Proposed SB 731: One Step Up and Three Steps Back?

by Arthur F. Coon | Miller Starr Regalia on 5/20/2013

There has been a lot of buzz around proposed SB 731, which is working its way through the State Legislature and will be heard Monday, May 20, in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Notwithstanding the hype and hopes, I think...more

The EPA Reaches Back in Time: Appeals Court Allows Government to Veto 404 Permits Issued Years Earlier

by James Potter | Nexsen Pruet, PLLC on 5/16/2013

Both public and private landowners have to obtain Section 404 discharge permits for the discharge of dredged materials from navigable waters. The Army Corps of Engineers is the permitting authority for the Section 404...more

Public Agency May Begin Eminent Domain Proceedings Before Completing CEQA Review, But May Not Actually Acquire The Property Until...

by William T. Chisum, Jon E. Goetz, Jeffrey L. Massey, Leslie Z. Walker | Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard on 5/13/2013

A racetrack landowner challenged a regional park district’s plan to condemn part of the property for construction of a bayside trail, asserting that the park district was required under eminent domain law and the California...more

Federal Court Provides Guidance on Adequacy of Consultation About Environmental Assessments of Major Resource Projects

by Jeremy Barretto, Thoma Gelbman, Suzanne MacMillan | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 5/8/2013

On April 23, 2013, the Federal Court of Canada released its decision dismissing an application commenced by the Conseil des Innus de Ekuanitshit (the Applicant) to judicially review the Order in Council (OIC) issued on the...more

Court Dismisses Suit For Failure To Strictly Comply With 60-Day Notice Requirement

by David Miller | Nossaman LLP on 5/7/2013

In Klamath Siskyou Wildlands Center v. MacWhorter, 1:12-cv-1900 (pdf), the United States District Court for the District of Oregon granted a motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ suit alleging that the U.S. Forest Service (USFS)...more

Texas Supreme Court Rules in Southern Crushed Concrete that Texas Clean Air Act Preempts City of Houston Land Use Ordinance

by Jacob Arechiga, Steven Dimitt, Michael Knapek, Peter Wahl | Jackson Walker on 5/3/2013

On February 15, 2013, the Texas Supreme Court reversed the rulings of both a trial court and lower appellate court and found in favor of Southern Crushed Concrete in holding that a City of Houston ordinance placing location...more

Appeals Court Upholds Drilling Bans

by Thomas Puchner | Phillips Lytle - Renewable Energy on 5/3/2013

In twin decisions handed down today, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department upheld two local zoning laws that prohibit activities related to oil and gas development (commonly referred to as “hydraulic...more

Missing CEQA Statute of Limitations Is Not Excusable Neglect, Third District Holds

by Arthur F. Coon | Miller Starr Regalia on 5/2/2013

In its terse, no-nonsense opinion in Alliance For the Protection of the Auburn Community v. County of Placer, et al. (2013) 215 Cal.App.4th 25, ordered published onApril 2, 2013, the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed a...more

Ninth Circuit Invalidates Consent Decree: Parties Must Go Back To The Drawing Board

by Ben Rubin | Nossaman LLP on 5/2/2013

On April 25, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit invalidated a consent decree that plaintiffs and three federal agency defendants asserted resolved a dispute spanning more than a decade. See...more

D.C. Appeals Court Says EPA May Revoke Fill Permit After It Has Been Issued

by Marc Bruner, Edgar Washburn | Perkins Coie on 5/1/2013

In addressing an important legal issue of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “veto” authority under Section 404(c) of the...more

Update on CEQA Reform: Steinberg’s Quest for the “Elusive Middle Ground”

by Shaye Diveley, Miles H. Imwalle | Morrison & Foerster LLP on 5/1/2013

The last year witnessed what once appeared to be a groundswell of support for the “modernization” of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), loosely meaning easing the burden of the process itself and minimizing...more

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise: An Agency Cannot Revise Regulations In a Consent Decree

by Seth Jaffe | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 4/30/2013

In a decision that should not have come as a surprise to anyone, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday, in Conservation Northwest v. Sherman, that the Bureau of Land Management and other agencies implementing the...more

CEQA Reform: The Cure May Be Worse Than The Disease

by Marc Bruner, Julie Jones, Barbara Schussman | Perkins Coie on 4/30/2013

According to the author’s April 23, 2013 press release, the amended version of Senate Bill 731 is a “comprehensive reform” of CEQA, “modernizing the law to aid California’s economic growth.” But a close review shows that the...more

Appeals Court Reinstates EPA “Veto” Over Corps’ Mining-Related Permit - Mingo Logan decision creates uncertainty in Clean Water...

by Denise Pettijohn, Christopher "Kip" B. Power, Robert Stonestreet | Dinsmore & Shohl LLP on 4/29/2013

In a surprising reversal, on April 23, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned a lower court order issued on March 23, 2012, in the case of Mingo Logan Coal Company v. U.S. Envtl. Prot....more

Earth Matters - April 2013: Recent Decision Highlights Distinction Between Compliance With Multiple Environmental Programs

by Kimberly Barnashuk, Adam Walters | Phillips Lytle LLP on 4/26/2013

A recent New York Court of Appeals decision, Bronx Committee for Toxic Free Schools v. New York City School Construction Authority, 20 N.Y.3d 148 (2012), highlighted the interplay between the compliance process for the State...more

D.C. Circuit Holds EPA Can Invalidate a Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit After It Is Issued

by Mary Lynn Coffee, George Mannina, Paul Weiland | Nossaman LLP on 4/26/2013

In a ruling that adds to the complexity of the federal regulatory landscape, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has the authority to...more

Do We Really Have A Section 404 Permit?

by Scott Broadwell | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 4/25/2013

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an opinion on April 23 in Mingo Logan Coal Co. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency upholding the Environmental Protection Agency’s...more

First District Holds CEQA Remedies Provision Allows Park District’s Eminent Domain Action To Proceed Pending Preparation of...

by Arthur F. Coon | Miller Starr Regalia on 4/25/2013

In Golden Gate Land Holdings LLC v. East Bay Regional Park District (4/12/13 1st Dist., Div. 5) _____ Cal.App.4th _____, 2013 WL 1491547, the First District Court of Appeal explored the scope and proper application of CEQA’s...more

U.S. District Court Says BLM Must Address Environmental Impacts of Fracking - Court Finds Fracking Operations are Subject to NEPA...

by Fernando Avila, Lucas Quass | Best Best & Krieger LLP on 4/24/2013

In an order addressing hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on federal lands, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) violated the National Environmental...more

Supreme Court Willing to Reconsider Deference to Administrative Agencies

by Stephen Miller, Jeffrey Monhait | Cozen O'Connor on 4/24/2013

Most of the federal government's authority is exercised, on a day-to-day basis, through its administrative agencies. Central to the efficiency of those agencies — such as it is — is the judiciary's substantial deference to...more

Housing Development With Optional Retail Component Qualifies For CEQA Exemption For Residential Projects Consistent With...

by Jon E. Goetz, Jeffrey L. Massey, Leslie Z. Walker | Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard on 4/24/2013

A group of citizens challenged a city’s determination that a proposed residential development qualifies for an exemption under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) as a residential project that is consistent with...more

No Relief Under CCP Section 473 For Missed Filing Deadline In CEQA Challenge

by Daniel Bane | Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 4/23/2013

Alliance for the Protection of the Auburn Community Environment, et al. v. County of Placer, SCV0028200 (3rd Dist., February 18, 2013). In Alliance for the Protection of the Auburn Community Environment v. County of...more

Earth Matters - April 2013: Fracking Moratorium Leads to Termination of Oil and Gas Leases

by Kevin Hogan | Phillips Lytle LLP on 4/23/2013

In 2008, then-Governor David A. Paterson directed the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to supplement its environmental impact review of oil and gas exploration in New York to consider the...more

The Recent “Culvert Decision” in United States v. Washington Is Likely To Have Significant Implications For Governmental and...

by Bart J. Freedman, Benjamin Mayer | K&L Gates LLP on 4/19/2013

On March 29, 2013, United States District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez ordered the State of Washington to replace culverts under State owned roads that block the passage of salmon to critical habitat. The court earlier found...more

Condemn Now, CEQA-Compliance Later? OK. Maybe....

by Brad Kuhn | Nossaman LLP on 4/19/2013

Acquiring property for public projects typically does not occur until after the project has received environmental approval. While this is the generally accepted rule – and it makes sense for a number of reasons – must a...more

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Civil Procedure › Environmental Law › Zoning, Planning & Land Use