An environmental advocacy organization on July 23 filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles over the Port of L.A.'s stormwater treatment system. At issue is a 53-acre portion of the port on Terminal Island where...more
7/29/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Water Act ,
Desalination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Storm Water ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Waste Treatment Facilities ,
Water Pollution
A report published last week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded that the former Exide Technologies battery recycling plant and surrounding properties in southeast Los Angeles County qualify for...more
7/15/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
Batteries ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CERCLA ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Oil Wells ,
Recycling ,
Regulatory Mandates ,
Superfund ,
U.S. Navy ,
Warehouses ,
Water Resources Control Board
On June 28, 2024, the United States Supreme Court upended decades of precedent by overturning the Chevron doctrine in the combined cases of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless Inc. v. Department of Commerce...more
7/1/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Relentless Inc v US Department of Commerce ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Vessels
The U.S. Supreme Court today upended a 40-year-old decision that made it easier for the federal government to regulate the environment, public health, workplace safety, and consumer protections, delivering a far-reaching and...more
7/1/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
Chevron Deference ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
PFAS ,
Railways ,
SCOTUS ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Well Drilling
In an order filed Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle denied a private property owner’s effort to enjoin the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers from enforcing their September 2023...more
6/24/2024
/ California ,
DTSC ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fees ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Sackett v EPA ,
State and Local Government ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Water Resources Control Board ,
Waters of the United States
Chemical and manufacturing groups sued the federal government on Monday over a landmark drinking water standard that would require cleanup of certain PFAS, so-called forever chemicals, which have been linked to cancer and...more
6/17/2024
/ Agricultural Land ,
Air Quality Standards ,
California ,
California Fish and Game Commission ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Insecticide ,
Landfills ,
PFAS ,
Safe Drinking Water Act
Plans to build the largest new reservoir in California in 50 years have taken a significant step forward following a judge’s decision last Friday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by environmental groups challenging the adequacy of...more
6/10/2024
/ California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CEQA ,
Department of Toxic Substances Control ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Industrial Discharges ,
NOAA ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Water Pollution ,
Water Quality
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider whether federal and state agencies must clearly define limits on wastewater pollution when issuing discharge permits. The high court took up the City of San Francisco’s...more
6/3/2024
/ Activist ,
Biden Administration ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Oil & Gas ,
Plastics ,
SCOTUS ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Wastewater
Over the past six months environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policy has shifted into a new era with the promulgation of new Greenhouse Gas (GHG) disclosure requirements at both the federal and state level in...more
Republican attorneys general from 20 U.S. states sued the Biden administration on Tuesday, seeking to block new reforms to the U.S. environmental review process for major projects such as transmission lines and wind and solar...more
5/28/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
California ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Drought ,
Energy Projects ,
Farm Bureau ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
NEPA ,
State and Local Government ,
Water Rights ,
Wildlife Protection
A coalition of 17 states led by Nebraska is suing California for creating ZEV standards for trucking fleets, saying the state’s rule violates the Constitution’s Commerce Clause. California’s Advanced Clean Fleets regulation,...more
5/20/2024
/ California ,
CARB ,
Commerce Clause ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Environmental Policies ,
Governor Newsom ,
Oil Wells ,
Orphan Wells ,
Salmon ,
Scientific Research ,
State Budgets ,
Trucking Industry ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday finalized tougher methane reporting standards that could increase the number of oil and gas companies that must pay fees for excess methane emissions....more
5/14/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
Biden Administration ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Dams ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Flood Control ,
Flooding ,
Groundwater ,
Methane ,
NOAA ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Storm Water ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
A new lawsuit filed in April by public drinking water systems in California against manufacturers of “forever chemicals” is among the first to cite new Biden administration EPA regulations that set strict limits for the...more
5/6/2024
/ California ,
CEQ ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Joe Biden ,
Lead ,
National Parks ,
NEPA ,
PFAS ,
San Francisco ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Waste Disposal
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced a goal to protect and restore 8 million acres of wetlands over the next six years in an effort to counter development pressures and recently weakened federal regulations. The new...more
4/29/2024
/ California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Water Act ,
Coal Mines ,
Dams ,
Department of the Interior ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
State and Local Government ,
Wetlands
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today designated two types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have been used in cookware, carpets, and firefighting foams as hazardous substances, an action...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stayed new climate-related disclosure requirements pending judicial review, the agency said on Thursday, after criticism from across the political spectrum. The SEC’s...more
4/8/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
Clean Air Act ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Herbicides ,
PFAS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
State and Local Government ,
Stays ,
Water Supplies
The Biden administration issued a final rule this Wednesday aimed at curbing methane leaks from oil and gas drilling on federal and tribal lands. Adoption of the rule is its latest action to crack down on emissions of...more
4/1/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Cross-Border ,
Department of the Interior ,
Department of Water Resources ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
PFAS ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Well Drilling
A lawsuit challenging the federal government’s interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest ruling in Sackett v. EPA on waters of the United States, or WOTUS, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of...more
In response to critics who said that proposed new statewide water conservation rules — aimed at cutting urban water use even in years when California is not in a drought — were too complicated and costly, the State Water...more
3/18/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
California ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Landfills ,
Methane ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pollution Control ,
Rivers ,
Texas ,
Water Conservation ,
Water Pollution ,
Well Drilling
A coalition of conservation groups filed a petition on Tuesday asking the California Fish and Game Commission to protect burrowing owl populations in five parts of the state including parts of the Bay Area and the Central...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Thursday that it is delaying planned rules to curb emissions from existing natural gas plants. The agency said it is still on track to finalize rules for coal-fired power...more
3/4/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
CARB ,
Clean-Up Costs ,
Coast Guard ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FEMA ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Landfills ,
Natural Gas ,
Wastewater
During arguments on Wednesday in the most significant environmental dispute before the U.S. Supreme Court this year, the Court's conservative justices expressed skepticism over the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to...more
2/26/2024
/ Board of Supervisors ,
California ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Farmers ,
Gold ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Mining ,
Pipelines ,
Radioactive Drilling Waste ,
SCOTUS ,
Waste ,
Water
The California Department of Conservation last Friday released a proposal to stop issuing permits for well stimulation treatments, commonly known as fracking. Most fracking operations in California are carried out in oil...more
2/19/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Air Quality Standards ,
California ,
Department of the Interior ,
Farmers ,
Fracking ,
Plastic Bag Bans ,
Quest Diagnostics ,
Tribal Lands ,
Waste ,
Water Resources Control Board
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday set tougher standards for emissions of fine particulate matter or “PM 2.5,” saying the new standards would save thousands of lives nationwide....more
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, California Chamber of Commerce, American Farm Bureau Federation, and other groups sued California on Tuesday in federal court over the most sweeping climate disclosure mandates in the nation,...more
2/5/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Dams ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Governor Newsom ,
PFAS ,
Salmon ,
State and Local Government ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Wastewater