Focus

Supreme Court delivers blow to wetlands protections in win for Idaho landowners

NBC News – May 25

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday narrowed the scope of the 1972 Clean Water Act by ruling that an Idaho couple's property does not include wetlands subject to federal oversight under the law. The decision in Sackett v. EPA ends a yearslong battle between the landowners and the federal government and is a victory for conservative groups and business interests opposed to the broad application of the water pollution law. In an opinion authored by conservative Justice Samuel Alito, the court held that Clean Water Act jurisdiction extends only to wetlands that are "indistinguishable" from larger bodies of water by having a "continuous surface connection." Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the court's three liberal justices in disagreeing with the majority's new test. "By narrowing the act's coverage of wetlands to only adjoining wetlands, the court's new test will leave some long-regulated adjacent wetlands no longer covered by the Clean Water Act, with significant repercussions for water quality and flood control throughout the United States," he wrote.

News

Governor Newsom unveils sweeping plan to speed up California infrastructure projects

Los Angeles Times – May 19

Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a sweeping package of legislation and signed an executive order last Friday to make it easier to build transportation, clean energy, and water infrastructure across California. Newsom's plan consists of eleven bills that he wants to fold into the 2023-24 state budget, which must pass the Legislature by June 15. At the center of Newsom's plan is the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which is often criticized for miring needed projects in litigation. The proposal aims to prevent any CEQA lawsuit challenging certain water, transportation, clean energy, semiconductor, and microelectronics projects from lasting longer than nine months.

Colorado River states strike deal to save water, hydropower

E&E News – May 22

Following close to a year of contentious negotiations, California, Arizona, and Nevada on Monday announced their agreement to reduce their water intake to ensure that enough water remains in major reservoirs to preserve hydropower generation in the drought-plagued Colorado River. The cuts would be shared by both farmers and municipalities, which rely on the river for drinking water. The agreement must still be approved by the Department of the Interior, which announced it would put an emergency planning process on hold while it conducts a National Environmental Policy Act review of the proposal.

California Supreme Court to hear Monterey County oil and gas drilling case

KSBW – May 24

The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Thursday in a case regarding Monterey County's Measure Z. Voters approved the measure, which banned hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking"), prohibited new oil and gas wells, and phased out wastewater injection wells, in 2016. Lawsuits by six companies, including Chevron, resulted in a trial court overturning parts of the measure in 2017 in a decision upheld by the Sixth District Court of Appeal, with Measure Z proponents now appealing to the California Supreme Court. Chevron argues that Measure Z should be preempted and void because it conflicts with state law. The advocacy group Protect Monterey County argues that the measure's restrictions are a valid use of "longstanding local power to make such decisions."

California seeks EPA approval to ban sales of new gasoline-only vehicles by 2035

Reuters – May 23

California has asked EPA to approve its plan to require all new vehicles sold in the state by 2035 to be either electric or plug-in electric hybrids. The California Air Resources Board (CARB), which approved the plan in August 2022, asked EPA on Monday to approve a waiver under the Clean Air Act to implement its new rules that set increasing annual targets for zero emission vehicle sales starting in 2026 and would end the sales of vehicles only powered by gasoline by 2035.

Huge Santa Clara County dam project dealt another setback

The Mercury News – May 22

In the latest stumble for plans to build a massive $2.8 billion dam in southern Santa Clara County near Pacheco Pass, a judge has ruled that the Santa Clara Valley Water District violated state environmental laws in connection with the dam's preliminary geological work. The ruling could lead to further delays in the proposal to construct the largest new dam in the Bay Area since Los Vaqueros Reservoir in Contra Costa County was built in 1998. The geological work in question requires contractors to spend eight to seventeen months drilling 226 borings and digging 57 test pits, up to 20 feet deep on various properties, including several on private ranches that would be flooded by the dam.

Contaminated Pleasanton wells approved for summer use

The Independent – May 24

The Pleasanton City Council, during its regular May 16 meeting, authorized the reinstatement of the city's contaminated wells during peak-demand periods. Although Zone 7, the region's water wholesaler, currently supplies all of Pleasanton's water, concerns about whether the connections between Zone 7 and Pleasanton can handle high summer demands have sent the city in search of ways to cover the supply shortfall created last November when new stringent state health targets for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) caused the city to shut down its groundwater wells.