Drones were a popular gift this past holiday season. Their rapidly growing presence is outpacing the ability of aviation regulators worldwide to keep up. The mayhem that ensued following the December 20, 2018 shutdown of...more
In a long anticipated move, on Tuesday December 11, 2018 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed further revisions to the federal Clean Water Act’s definition of “waters of the United States,” (WOTUS), clawing...more
The Arizona Attorney General recently reached an agreement with Utah-based real estate company Homie which made a splash in the Phoenix market during the fall election with candidate-type signage posted throughout the...more
With 2019 just around the corner, recent historic hurricane and fire damage and Democratic mid-term election gains in the House and across many states will cause climate change impacts, policy and legislation to take center...more
President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by Congress in December included a new community development program designed to promote investment in low income urban and rural communities. These “Opportunity Zones” provide...more
4/30/2018
/ Community Development ,
Investment Funds ,
IRS ,
Land Developers ,
Land Owners ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Opportunity Zones ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
With midterm elections looming, the prospects of a blue wave strengthening, and a consistent shuffling of the Trump cabinet, former Oklahoma Attorney General and current EPA administrator Scott Pruitt now finds himself in the...more
While legislative wrangling over construction of a border wall continues, unmanned aerial vehicles are a growing part of the nation’s defense strategy. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has implemented the Predator-B...more
On January 22, 2018, in National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense, the United States Supreme Court held unanimously that challenges to the federal Clean Water Act’s 2015 Waters of the United States...more
On October 25, President Trump issued a memorandum directing Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao to launch an initiative to safely test and validate advanced operations for drones in partnership with state and local...more
12/5/2017
/ Aviation Industry ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Drones ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Secretary of Transportation ,
State and Local Government ,
Tribal Governments ,
Trump Administration ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
On September 21, 2017, in what is believed to be the first federal court ruling on the issue of local drone regulation, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Singer v. City of Newton,...more
Earlier this month in collaboration with the Arizona Regional Economic Development Foundation, Arizona UAS Magazine produced and organized Arizona’s second annual Arizona UAS Summit & Expo at the Sheraton Mesa Hotel at...more
On June 27, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt along with the assistant secretary of the Army for civil works signed a proposed rule to rescind the Obama administration “waters of the United States” or “WOTUS” rule. The proposed...more
7/4/2017
/ Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Notice and Comment ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Rescission ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
On Friday, May 19, 2017, less than a month after the National Park Service’s first use of a drone in a Grand Canyon search and rescue mission, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a Federal Aviation...more
In a demonstration that not all regulations solve the problems they were intended to, and a testament to the power of market conditions, owners of the controversial Navajo Generating Station (NGS) power plant near Lake Powell...more
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) announced at the end of January that it would commence a statewide screening program for the presence of lead in school drinking water. The agency declared that its...more
To the victor belong the spoils, and President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election (get used to it) and Republican Congressional control will significantly impact environmental programs and priorities...more
11/29/2016
/ Barack Obama ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fracking ,
Keystone XL Pipeline ,
Kyoto Protocol ,
Paris Agreement ,
Presidential Elections ,
Renewable Energy ,
Repeal ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration ,
Waters of the United States
On July 21, 2016, the California Supreme Court in Property Reserve v. Superior Court upheld the state’s precondemnation entry and testing statutes provided they were reformed to allow impacted property owners the ability to...more
With the second regular legislative session of Governor Doug Ducey’s tenure complete, the Governor exercised his veto pen rejecting several laws impacting water and land development.
On May 9th, Governor Ducey vetoed two...more
On Thursday, April 14th, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) Director Misael Cabrera testified before Congress regarding naturally occurring ozone levels in parts of Arizona making it impossible to comply with...more
The condemnation of property for public works may not always be as clean and easy as the government would like. Although local governments are often critical players in the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated...more
On January 14th, the State of New Mexico provided the legally required notice under the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to sue the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the State of...more
Although likely to survive a presidential veto of a joint resolution seeking to nullify the June 29, 2015 rule submitted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers amending the definition...more
Arizona homebuilders will welcome with open arms two recent legal rulings of substantial impact to their industry. In the first decision, on July 28, 2015, in Sullivan v. Pulte Home Corp., No. 1 CA-CV 14-0199, the Arizona...more
9/3/2015
/ Clean Water Act ,
Construction Defects ,
Duty of Care ,
Economic Loss Doctrine ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Farms ,
Housing Developers ,
Migrant Workers ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Subsequent Purchasers ,
Waters of the United States
On August 27, the day before it was set to become final, a federal district court in North Dakota halted implementation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers’ “Waters of The...more
On August 3, 2015, President Barack Obama and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued their final Clean Power Plan rule, which imposes requirements on states and tribes to reduce carbon dioxide...more