On-Demand Webinar | Regulatory Uncertainty and Linear Infrastructure Projects: Where Are We and What’s Ahead?
PFAS: Increasing Regulations and Managing Legal Liability
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
The Current and Future Landscapes of EPA Criminal and Civil Enforcement
On-Demand Webinar | The New NEPA Regulations: A Practical Guide to What You Need to Know
One-on-One with David Fotouhi, Acting General Counsel at the EPA
Volatile Times in Vapor Intrusion Regulation: A Legal and Technical Update
[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
[WEBINAR] Update on the California Environmental Quality Act: What’s New for 2018
On July 18, 2024, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided that environmental groups were entitled to intervene in a case challenging the lawfulness of a greenhouse gas regulation because the state’s attorneys failed to raise...more
The Third District Court of Appeal upheld the Department of Water Resources’ EIR concerning State Water Project contract amendments against multiple CEQA challenges related to impact analysis, project descriptions, and...more
On February 20, 2024, the City of Chicago sued defendant fossil fuel companies in Illinois state court, asserting state law claims, including nuisance, violations of consumer protection laws, and products liability. Chicago...more
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ refusal to rehear a pivotal gas appliance regulation decision has thrown a wrench into local efforts to reduce fossil fuel use....more
PFAS Chemicals: The Bad News, The Worse News, Then Perhaps Some Hope. The story of PFAS chemicals and their effects is disturbing, on many levels. Like so many “helpful” things that turn out to be evil, PFAS chemicals...more
An environmental impact report need not discuss impacts that are too speculative in nature for proper evaluation or assess economic costs not linked to a physical change in the environment. County of Butte v. Dept. of Water...more
On June 13, 2023, the Second Appellate District affirmed the City of Pomona’s use of a statutory exemption for its Commercial Cannabis Overlay Permit Program under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines...more
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals,” have been in use since the 1940s and have been added to a wide variety of products to make them resistant to heat, water, oil, and corrosion. PFAS...more
By Dennis Anderson and Deepa SutherlandTo read this article in PDF format, please click here. On April 24, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a heavy blow to Big Oil defendants seeking to remove climate change cases to federal...more
As Seth Jaffe posted last week, the 9th Circuit recently struck down the City of Berkeley’s first-in-the-nation electrification ordinance that prohibited the installation of gas infrastructure in new buildings, finding the...more
As noted in a February 20th post several Requests for Hearings were filed before the Arkansas Pollution Control & Ecology Commission (“Commission”) addressing an application seeking to modify a permit for an open-cut mining...more
The courts issued 16 published CEQA decisions in 2022, continuing a trend of fewer published opinions than the pattern established in earlier years. The only California Supreme Court opinion, County of Butte v. Department of...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, on July 1, 2022, took the extraordinary step of reversing its prior decision in California River Watch v. City of Vacaville. The Ninth Circuit ruled that “transportation” under...more
The court held that the County of Marin did not abdicate its duties under CEQA when it approved a specific project pursuant to a stipulated judgment. Tiburon Open Space Committee v. County of Marin, 78 Cal. App. 5th 700...more
On May 25th, Massachusetts filed suit against a number of companies alleged to have manufactured PFAS and/or aqueous film-forming foam. Massachusetts joins a number of other states which have already brought similar...more
As noted in an April 27th blog post, the Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) in the United States...more
New York Bight Lease Sale Under Attack - A New Jersey-based nonprofit organization, Save Long Beach Island, and its president sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in January 2022. They are asserting...more
In the first appellate decision to decide the issue since the Supreme Court decision in BP P.L.C. v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, the 10th Circuit ruled this week that climate damage claims brought by several Colorado...more
In the first reported interpretation of a 2021 amendment to CEQA’s statute of limitations provisions, the First District Court of Appeal addressed “whether an action against a lead agency must be dismissed–despite being filed...more
The City of San Diego’s approval of underground utility lines was incomplete because its Climate Action Plan checklist improperly allowed certain non-occupancy projects to avoid greenhouse gas emission (GHG) consistency...more
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Red Line Contractors, LLC, (“Redline”) entered into a Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged violations of...more
On June 29, 2021, a cohort of New York local governments (including many where large-scale solar projects are currently proposed), community organizations, and avian interest groups filed a lawsuit in the New York State...more
This week, Judge Karen Green denied Exxon Mobil’s motion to dismiss claims brought by Massachusetts under its Consumer Protection Act. The complaint alleges that Exxon Mobil both mislead Massachusetts investors in its...more
I undertook an Arkansas Environmental Federation webinar held by the organization’s Land and Sustainability Committee on May 20th titled: Solid and Hazardous Waste/Recycling Administrative/Judicial Developments: 2020-2021...more
CEQA Case Report: Understanding the Judicial Landscape for Development - Public agencies prevailed in 68% of CEQA cases analyzed. Latham & Watkins is pleased to present its fourth annual CEQA Case Report. Throughout...more