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

Canada’s Supreme Court Requires Aboriginal Groups to Follow Statutory Process

by Elizabeth Coyle, Thoma Gelbman, Maureen Killoran | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 5/17/2013

On May 9, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Behn v. Moulton Contracting Ltd., 2013 SCC 26, affirming that Aboriginal groups seeking to challenge the validity of permits or authorizations granted to...more

DISPUTE RESOLUTION: Oil & Gas Litigation: New Decision May Impede Fracking on Federal Land

by King & Spalding on 5/10/2013

Recently, a California federal court blocked drilling on certain federal land located in California’s Monterey Shale Formation play. In reaching its decision, the court relied heavily on perceived risks of fracking, holding...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

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

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

Federal Court Holds Local Law Preempted By ESA Settlement

by Ben Rubin | Nossaman LLP on 4/18/2013

The Palila (Loxioides bailleui) is a small bird native to Hawaii that was listed as endangered in 1967. In 1998, the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, pursuant to a stipulation submitted by the parties, issued...more

US District Court Judge Orders Washington Highway Culverts Opened for Fish Passage

by Lane Powell PC - Environmental Law on 4/11/2013

Federal district court Judge Ricardo Martinez has issued a permanent injunction requiring the Washington State Department of Transportation (“WSDOT”), the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and the Washington...more

The Aransas Project v. Shaw: An Endangered Species Act Decision With Potential Implications for Water Rights

by Laura Evans, Alan Glen, Michael Klein | Sedgwick LLP on 4/5/2013

Last month, a federal district court in Texas ruled that state regulators proximately caused an unlawful “take” of listed whooping cranes in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) because the state surface water permit...more

Fifth Circuit Stays Injunction In Whooping Crane Case

by Paul Weiland | Nossaman LLP on 3/28/2013

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stayed an injunction issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas requiring the State to prepare a habitat conservation plan for the...more

What is the "relevant parcel" in a regulatory takings case?

by Ben Rubin | Nossaman LLP on 1/31/2013

In Lost Tree Village Corporation v. United States, the Federal Circuit addressed this question head on, concluding, to the surprise of no one, that the answer will largely depend upon the unique facts in each case. ...more

CEQA Standing Reform: Could Statutory Standing Requirements Feasibly Be Tightened To Bar Anti-Competitive Lawsuits Motivated By...

by Arthur F. Coon | Miller Starr Regalia on 12/13/2012

Meaningful CEQA reform is a topic much discussed by politicians and stakeholders, but its realization remains elusive. For example, in-fill exemptions are fettered with multitudes of complex and convoluted conditions and...more

Common Sense Reading of CEQA Remedies Statute Authorizes “Limited Writ” for Violations, Fourth District Holds, Rejecting Contrary...

by Miller Starr Regalia on 11/29/2012

In a recent published decision addressing cumulative impacts, deferred mitigation, and water supply analysis issues, the Fourth District Court of Appeal’s most significant CEQA pronouncements may have been those addressing...more

"Pattern and Practice" Lawsuit Challenges State’s CEQA Compliance in Permitting Fracking

by Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard on 11/21/2012

The oil and gas industry’s increased use of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” continues to gain attention in California....more

Appellate Court Holds That Regional Water Quality Control Board Approval Of Discharge Permit For Dairies Fails To Satisfy...

by Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard on 11/12/2012

In a decision filed on November 6, 2012, the Third District Court of Appeal held that the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (“Regional Water Board”) failed to comply with the State’s anti-degradation policy...more

CEQA Remedies Clarified

by Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP on 11/5/2012

Preserve Wild Santee v. City of Santee Finds That CEQA Allows Courts to Issue Limited Fix-It Tickets for CEQA Deficiencies in EIRs Rather Than Decertifying the Entire EIR and Invalidating All Related Project Approvals. ...more

Environmental Group Is Denied Fee Award Even Where It Successfully Challenged Agency Decision

by Barger & Wolen on 11/1/2012

In Western Watersheds Project v. Ellis, 2012 DJDAR 13948 (2012), the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit decided a claim for attorney fees made by an environmental organization arising from grazing permit litigation....more

W.Va. Supreme Court Affirms Award of Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses Against WVDEP In Surface Mine Board Appeals

by Dinsmore & Shohl LLP on 10/30/2012

By a per curiam (“for the Court”) decision issued on October 19, 2012, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) is obligated to pay the Hominy...more

Settling Water-Based Superfund Liabilities -- A Toxic Brew

by Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 10/11/2012

In a poignant moment in Godfather III, Al Pacino’s character says: “Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in”. EPA's recent eye-popping announcement of a $366 million encore settlement by AVX with respect to the...more

CERCLA Investigations That Really Are At Risk

by Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 9/20/2012

Site owners who conduct environmental investigations of potential releases of hazardous substances in the expectation that they will be able to recover their costs from the party whose operations gave rise to that threatened...more

Ninth Circuit Dismisses Challenge to Injunction in Delta Smelt Case

by Paul Weiland | Nossaman LLP on 8/23/2012

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has granted a motion by appellees to dismiss an appeal pursued by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other organizations from an interim order enjoining one...more

Attorney Member of Public Interest Organization Properly Awarded Attorney Fees

by Barger & Wolen on 7/23/2012

In Healdsburg Citizens for Sustainable Solutions v. City of Healdsburg, 2012 DJDAR 7386 (2012), the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District decided a novel fee recovery case brought under the California...more

McAfee & Taft AgLINC Agriculture & Equine Industry Newsletter - July 2012: General permit now available for pesticides applied to...

by McAfee & Taft on 7/18/2012

For decades, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act has provided regulation for the application of pesticides. However, in 2009, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals required the Environmental Protection Agency...more

Fees Of Attorney With Personal Interest In CEQA Action Are Recoverable Under Private Attorney General Statute

by Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard on 7/6/2012

A court of appeal recently concluded that the fees of an attorney who provided legal services but was also a party to a California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) lawsuit could be recovered under the private attorney...more

Parties Must Exhaust Administrative Remedies Before Challenging Even A CEQA Exemption

by Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 6/29/2012

The California Supreme Court recently reinforced the CEQA requirement that a party must exhaust administrative remedies even where the public agency finds a project exempt from CEQA, if the agency (a) gave notice of the...more

UPDATE: Exhaustion-Of-Administrative-Remedies Requirement Applies If There Is A Public Hearing Before An Agency Determines A...

by Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard on 6/21/2012

The California Supreme Court recently held that the exhaustion-of-administrative-remedies requirement found in Public Resources Code § 21177, subdivision (a), applies where a public agency determines that a proposed project...more

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