In a significant ruling, the D.C. Circuit in Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration held that the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) lacks the statutory authority to issue binding regulations under the...more
11/27/2024
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Climate Change ,
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Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Government Agencies ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Statutory Authority
Two recent developments indicate that enforcement of California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District’s Warehouse Indirect Source Rule is coming soon. Two years ago, the South Coast Air Quality Management District...more
Two years ago the South Coast Air Quality Management District (“SCAQMD”) adopted its Warehouse Indirect Source Rule – Rule 2305. SCAQMD regulates air quality in areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardina...more
Environmental justice is a principle that has been around since at least the 1990s, with roots back to the 1960s. The US EPA describes environmental justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people...more
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (“SCAQMD”) is pursuing a new rule to regulate distribution warehouses. The SCAQMD’s focus is not on emissions generated by the warehouses or their equipment. Rather, its focus...more
2/26/2021
/ Air Pollution ,
Air Quality Standards ,
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Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fees ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Illegal Tax ,
Pollution Control ,
Proposed Rules ,
SCAQMD ,
Statutory Authority ,
Warehouses ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
As industrial facilities go, distribution warehouses are clean, non-polluting operations. They generally do not operate industrial furnaces, boilers, compressors, pumps, tanks or other major stationary sources of air...more
10/15/2020
/ Air Pollution ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fees ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Pollution Control ,
Proposed Rules ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Warehouses ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
A recent court of appeal opinion out of San Diego demonstrates how the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) has once again been used to impede housing development—this time to the benefit of a high-end luxury...more
9/24/2020
/ Administrative Record ,
Appeals ,
CEQA ,
Commercial Use ,
Common-Interest Privilege ,
Construction Project ,
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Motion to Compel ,
Petition for Writ of Mandate ,
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Vacated
In 1970 the California Supreme Court held that, under certain circumstances, private property owners impliedly dedicate their property to the public if they permit the public to use it. Gion v. City of Santa Cruz (1970) 2...more
Lawsuits under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) typically proceed as petitions for administrative mandamus. This means the petitioner is asking the court to review an agency’s decision and ultimately issue a...more
9/22/2016
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Administrative Record ,
CEQA ,
Construction Project ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Judicial Review ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Prevailing Party ,
Real Estate Development ,
Shopping Centers ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Wal-Mart
A recent California case provides good precedent for dealing with nuisance lawsuits that are intended to delay valid foreclosures. In Brown v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company —Cal.Rptr.3d—, 2016 WL 2726229 (May 9, 2016),...more
Harry Rogers owned and operated a horse boarding facility called the Stock Farm, in the City of Poway, California – a city that proudly calls itself the “City in the Country.” Rogers wanted to shut down the Stock Farm and...more
The World Logistics Center is a massive project – 41 million square feet of logistics facilities located on 2,300 acres in Moreno Valley, California. The project has undergone environmental review for years, culminating in an...more
To address the worsening drought, on April 1, 2015, Governor Brown issued Executive Order B-29-15 (“Executive Order”), mandating a 25% reduction in potable urban water consumption. In response, the State Water Resources...more
A general waiver by a guarantor of “all defenses” does not actually waive “all defenses.” California Bank & Trust v. Del Ponti, — Cal.Rptr.3d —, 2014 WL 6908141 (Cal.App. 4 Dist.). That was the holding in a recent opinion...more
Ordinarily the threat of a lawsuit under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) passes once the statute of limitation expires – in most cases 30 days after the filing of a Notice of Determination. But a recent...more
For parties to litigate a contract dispute in a court of law, the parties’ disagreement must have ripened into an actual controversy presenting more than a mere academic difference of opinion. But under a recent California...more
On October 29, 2014 the California Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court’s judgment enforcing a mitigation measure adopted by a county in its program environmental impact report (PEIR). As of the date of this blog post,...more
In a new California case, a lender that made a full credit bid at a foreclosure sale lost its right as mortgagee under a lender’s insurance policy for damage to the property that occurred prior to foreclosure. This was so...more
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) scored another victory in its ongoing effort to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the state to 1990 levels under the mandate of AB 32 (the “Global Warming Solutions Act of...more