The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service issued a set of three new final rules on August 12, 2019, that substantially revise the regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act. The new...more
The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule June 26, 2019, revising the agency’s Freedom of Information Act regulations. According to EPA, those regulations, last updated in 2002, required revision to comply with...more
7/22/2019
/ Appeals ,
Confidential Information ,
Congressional Intent ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exemptions ,
Final Rules ,
FOIA ,
Food Marketing Institute v Argus Leader Media ,
Motion to Compel ,
Private Commercial or Financial Information ,
Protected Disclosures ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial-Competitive-Harm Test ,
Trade Secrets
Land Use and Development Case Summaries (short form) -
1. PLANNING AND ZONING -
CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ACTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE V. CITY OF MORENO VALLEY,
26 Cal. App. 5th 689 (2018) -
Based on the language and...more
1/29/2019
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
Building Permits ,
Building Standards ,
CA Supreme Court ,
California Coastal Commission ,
CEQA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Density Bonus ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Exemptions ,
Fully Protected Species ,
General Plan ,
Homeowners ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Impact Fees ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
Mitigated Negative Declaration ,
New Legislation ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Development ,
Referendums ,
Regulatory Takings ,
School Districts ,
State and Local Government ,
Subdivision Map Act ,
Sustainability ,
Traffic Impact Assessments ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands ,
Zoning Laws
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers announced a proposed rule to redefine the term “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act on December 11, 2018. The proposed rule, which awaits...more
12/18/2018
/ Bright-Line Rule ,
Certiorari ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Jurisdiction ,
NEPA ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Water ,
Waters of the United States
In a unanimous decision with immediate repercussions for the administration of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Supreme Court held that an area is eligible for designation as critical habitat under the ESA only if...more
11/30/2018
/ Appeals ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Economic Impact Analysis ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Judicial Review ,
Private Property ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Weyerhaeuser Company v United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Late last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service withdrew two environmental policies adopted in late 2016 by the Obama administration that address mitigation for impacts to natural resources. These two policies established...more
8/2/2018
/ Bureau of Land Management ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
FLPMA ,
Mitigation ,
NEPA ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) published three proposed rules last week that would revise the regulations implementing portions of the...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a guidance memorandum addressing when an incidental take permit may be needed under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act for projects that modify habitat of federally...more
As reported in our prior Update, in a decision issued on January 22, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense, 138 S. Ct. 617, that challenges to the Obama...more
4/5/2018
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Delays ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
National Association of Manufacturers v DOD ,
Navigable Waters ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
In a unanimous decision on January 22, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that challenges to the Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Water Rule must be brought in federal district courts rather than directly in the courts of appeals....more
1/26/2018
/ Appeals ,
Case Consolidation ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
National Association of Manufacturers v DOD ,
NPDES ,
Proposed Rules ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a proposed rule on June 27, 2017, that will rescind the Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Water Rule and recodify the pre-2015 regulations that...more
6/30/2017
/ Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Jurisdiction ,
Navigable Waters ,
Obama Administration ,
Rapanos v US ,
Rescission ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
In Defenders of Wildlife v. Zinke, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the Biological Opinion prepared by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to assess the impacts on the threatened desert tortoise from the...more
In the latest chapter of the seemingly never-ending controversy over the Clean Water Act’s reach, on February 28, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S....more
3/3/2017
/ Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Navigable Waters ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Water Pollution ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
In a 4-3 decision, the California Supreme Court ruled that attorney invoices submitted to public agencies are not categorically exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act. Los Angeles County Board of...more
In Friends of the College of San Mateo Gardens v. San Mateo County Community College District (Supreme Court No. S214061, filed Sept. 19, 2016), the California Supreme Court resolved the vexing question of whether a change to...more
9/29/2016
/ Addendums ,
CA Supreme Court ,
CEQA ,
Colleges ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Educational Institutions ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Real Estate Development ,
Renovations
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on May 31, 2016 that an approved jurisdictional determination issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act is a final agency action subject to judicial review. Hawkes Co.,...more
6/2/2016
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hawkes Co v United States Army Corps of Engineers ,
Judicial Review ,
Jurisdictional Determination (JD) ,
Land Developers ,
Permits ,
Property Owners ,
SCOTUS ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit last week rejected a claim under the National Environmental Policy Act that the Navy did not adequately consider the environmental consequences of a potential terrorist threat...more
On February 11, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service jointly published final regulations and a final policy addressing critical...more
In 2015 the California appellate courts continued to chart new ground as they grappled with some of CEQA’s most difficult and controversial questions. The Supreme Court of California led the way, issuing four opinions on...more
The U.S. Supreme Court decided last week to review a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit that jurisdictional determinations under the Clean Water Act are final agency actions subject to judicial...more
President Barack Obama recently ordered the heads of five federal agencies (U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Oceanic...more
In an attempt to “temporarily silence[] the whirlwind of confusion that springs from uncertainty,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has blocked the new rule defining “waters of the United States” under the...more
In a major victory for beekeepers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has vacated the EPA’s approval of the pesticide sulfoxaflor, concluding that the approval was based on “flawed and limited data” regarding...more
On September 4, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held in United States v. CITGO Petroleum Co. that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act’s take prohibition does not include the unintentional take of migratory...more
On August 27, 2015, Chief Judge Ralph Erickson of the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota granted a preliminary injunction that stops EPA’s and the Army Corps of Engineers’ new rule defining federal...more