On June 30, 2025, Governor Newsom signed two budget trailer bills into law: Assembly Bill 130 and Senate Bill 131, which reform the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) effective immediately. As explained by the...more
7/7/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
California ,
CEQA ,
CEQA Reform ,
Environmental Policies ,
Governor Newsom ,
Housing Developers ,
Infrastructure ,
New Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State Legislatures
The Trump administration’s plan to repeal a rule prohibiting logging and road construction in undeveloped parts of national forests would remove protection from more than 4 million acres of forestland within California’s...more
California stands at a pivotal juncture in 2025, confronting an array of environmental and housing challenges. As usual, the California State Legislature is considering numerous strategies to address these issues. This year’s...more
6/24/2025
/ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ,
Affordable Housing ,
California ,
California Coastal Commission ,
California Endangered Species Act ,
CEQA ,
Citizen Suits ,
Clean Energy ,
Demolition ,
Density Bonus ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Impact Fees ,
Natural Disasters ,
Natural Resources ,
New Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Sackett v EPA ,
Water Conservation ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands ,
Wildfires
California’s regulatory authority over “waters of the state” continues to grow even as the federal definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) narrows under shifting legal and regulatory frameworks. In Sackett v. EPA...more
6/23/2025
/ California ,
Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Permits ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sackett v EPA ,
Waste Disposal ,
Water Quality ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
Owners and operators of facilities damaged or destroyed by the recent Los Angeles-area wildfires should be aware of the risks posed by toxic contaminant releases during cleanup and, in particular, the regulatory requirements...more
6/23/2025
/ Asbestos ,
Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
CEQA ,
City of Los Angeles ,
Construction Industry ,
Contractors ,
Demolition ,
Government Agencies ,
NESHAP ,
Penalties ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Renovations ,
SCAQMD ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Wildfires
California is often the vanguard of climate-related policies and programs. From legislation requiring the state to reduce overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and procure electricity from renewable and carbon-free sources...more
6/20/2025
/ California ,
CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Legislation ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
Each year, many California businesses receive letters from private entities, typically environmental nongovernmental organizations (Citizen Groups), alleging that those businesses’ facilities are in violation of applicable...more
6/20/2025
/ Best Management Practices ,
California ,
Citizen Suits ,
Clean Water Act ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Violations ,
NPDES ,
Penalties ,
Permits ,
Pollution Control ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved this Wednesday to erase limits on greenhouse gases from power plants and to weaken restrictions on other hazardous power plant emissions, including mercury, arsenic, and...more
6/16/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
California ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
On May 29, 2025, the Supreme Court held that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) — which requires federal agencies to analyze the environmental impacts of projects that they perform, fund, or approve — does not...more
6/9/2025
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Government Agencies ,
Hazardous Substances ,
NEPA ,
Pollution Control ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
State and Local Government
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of an alliance of local counties that support a planned 88-mile railroad project in Utah, concluding that the federal environmental review process did not have to consider...more
6/2/2025
/ California ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Review ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Plastics ,
Recycling ,
SCOTUS ,
Water Pollution ,
Wetlands
The Senate on Thursday blocked California’s landmark plan to phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles, setting up a legal battle that could shape the electric car market in the United States. The consequences of...more
5/27/2025
/ California ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will rescind much of the Biden administration’s first nationwide drinking water standard aimed at protecting people from PFAS, which are found in hundreds of consumer and...more
The House passed resolutions last week to rescind federal waivers that allow California to set stricter vehicle emissions standards than the rest of the country. California’s standards currently require the sale of most...more
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) circulated a draft template, dated April 8, 2025, to assist federal agencies in updating their procedures for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)....more
5/2/2025
/ Air Quality Standards ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CEQ ,
Clean Air Act ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Government Agencies ,
Kinder Morgan ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
SCOTUS ,
Water
The Trump administration is moving to effectively eliminate a crucial protection in the half-century-old federal Endangered Species Act by redefining a single word: harm. A proposed rule, issued this Wednesday from the U.S....more
4/18/2025
/ California ,
Clean Water Act ,
Critical Habitat ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Government Agencies ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
NOAA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pollution Control ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Health ,
Refineries ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
President Trump issued an executive order this Tuesday taking aim at state and local climate change laws and policies, including California’s landmark market program for reducing greenhouse gases. The order directs U.S....more
As part of a continued effort to expedite rebuilding after Los Angeles' devastating firestorms, Governor Gavin Newsom this week suspended California environmental laws for utility providers working to reinstall key...more
The Trump administration is offering coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities an opportunity to obtain exemptions from Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements designed to reduce emissions of chemicals such as mercury,...more
President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plans to terminate lease contracts at nearly two dozen California offices relating to science, agriculture, and the environment, according to its federal...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this Wednesday that it will narrow the definition of waters that can be federally regulated to comply with the Supreme Court's 2023 Sackett v. EPA ruling. This...more
On Tuesday, in a 5-4 opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alioto, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a pivotal ruling that the Clean Water Act (CWA) provisions authorizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impose...more
3/7/2025
/ California ,
City and County of San Francisco v Environmental Protection Agency ,
Clean Water Act ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Logging ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Sewer Systems ,
Trump Administration ,
Wastewater
On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in City and County of San Francisco, California v. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. No. 23-753 in which the City and County of San Francisco (San Francisco)...more
On February 20, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) posted a pre-publication notice on its website of an Interim Final Rule rescinding its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act...more
The Trump administration is taking steps to challenge California’s authority to set stricter vehicle emissions standards by targeting state rules that mandate the sale of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). Last Friday, U.S....more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday that it won’t order soil testing at properties damaged by the Eaton and Palisades fires after they have been cleaned by private federal contractors, breaking with a...more