Recent Updates to Federal Environmental and Natural Resource Regulations
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On May 23, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a published opinion in Natural Resources Defense Council et al. v. Debra Haaland et al. (Case No. 21-15163) (“NRDC v. Haaland”) rejecting the plaintiffs’ challenges...more
Reversing the district court, a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit held that that the Bureau of Reclamation and a local water agency have discretion to release water from Twitchell Dam on the Santa Maria River on the Central...more
Last Friday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California issued an order on competing motions in the coordinated cases challenging the 2019 biological opinions (BiOps) that govern operation of California’s...more
As drought conditions intensify throughout the western United States, water allocation and procurement continue to be contentious issues. While the problem is easily identified—demand keeps increasing, but supply is...more
Notwithstanding its protected status as a listed species under the federal Endangered Species Act, the Southern California steelhead population is proposed for listing under the California Endangered Species Act. During a...more
Officials call for protection of Redwood City’s salt ponds - The San Mateo Daily Journal – February 19 - Nearly 60 Bay Area political leaders and organizations last Tuesday asked the Biden administration to protect...more
White House directs agencies to relax enforcement - Los Angeles Times – September 9 - A memorandum produced by the White House Office of Management and Budget and sent to federal agency heads last week instructs them to...more
Recently, Lyn Clancy, Managing Associate General Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor for the Lower Colorado River Authority, and I presented on the topic of Endangered Species and Water Supply at the State Bar of Texas’...more
The State of California recently sent a 60-day notice of intent to sue to the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior and concurrently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California...more
On November 21, 2019, the California Secretary for Natural Resources announced California’s decision to sue the federal government over its biological opinions for continuing operations of the California State Water Project...more
Waterkeeper Alliance, Inc. and several other environmental organizations (collectively “Waterkeeper”) filed a December 19th Petition for Review of Agency Action (“Petition”) in the United States District Court for the...more
The Trump Administration issued a document on October 19th titled: Presidential Memorandum on Promoting the Reliable Supply and Delivery of Water in the West (“Memorandum”)...more
Amidst much fanfare, on Friday President Trump released a Presidential Memoranda (much like an Executive Order, yet different?) directing Federal agencies to work together to reduce regulatory burdens on Western water...more
On July 21, 2017, the California Department of Water Resources (“DWR”) certified the final environmental document and issued its Notice of Determination for the California WaterFix, a significant new water infrastructure...more
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Rep. David Valadao’s (R-CA) Gaining Responsibility on Water Act. The legislation is co-sponsored by 14 members of the California Delegation, primarily Republicans. The...more
The struggle to allocate scarce water resources between endangered and threatened fish and humans is not new. But droughts in the Southwest, which lower stream flows, and population increases, which raise demand, have...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - Exide cleanup: Los Angeles County approves $2 million to facilitate lead removal at homes: Los Angeles Times - Oct 27: Los Angeles County supervisors, frustrated by what they say is a...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - United States, China sign landmark climate change declaration at Los Angeles summit: Courthouse News - Sep 15: U.S. and Chinese leaders on Tuesday signed a landmark declaration on climate...more
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced a bill last week to help address ongoing and future drought in California. The bill, known as the California Emergency Drought Relief Act (Act), is expected to be folded into broader...more
Environmental and Policy Focus: California lawmakers introduce sweeping new measures to increase renewable energy, cut fossil fuel use - San Jose Mercury News - Feb 10: Last Tuesday, California lawmakers unveiled a...more
As we reported here, on October 6, 2014, a number of public water agencies and other entities that represent agricultural and municipal water users in California filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme...more
Environmental and Policy Focus: U.S. EPA settles case over destruction of rare Central Valley wetlands: EPA - Aug 14: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice today announced a...more
Environmental and Policy Focus -- Court of Appeals upholds determination: Reuters - Mar 14 - The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday rejected a challenge to a determination by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service...more