The First Appellate District held that tribal sovereign immunity bars a quiet title action to establish a public easement for coastal access on property owned by an Indian tribe. Self v. Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community, 60...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a U.S. Forest Service plan for commercial logging of some 4,700 acres of fire-damaged Mendocino National Forest could not reasonably be interpreted as falling within a NEPA...more
10/1/2020
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Environmental Policies ,
Forest Service ,
Forestry ,
Logging ,
Maintenance ,
NEPA ,
Repairs ,
Roads ,
State and Local Government
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal found multiple defects in a Kern County EIR for a proposed ordinance streamlining the permitting process for new oil and gas wells. King and Gardiner Farms, LLC v. County Kern 45 Cal.App.5th...more
The State of Hawaii Land Use Commission’s reversion of 1,060 acres from a conditional urban land use classification to the prior agricultural use classification was not an unconstitutional taking because the landowner could...more
The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule June 26, 2019, revising the agency’s Freedom of Information Act regulations. According to EPA, those regulations, last updated in 2002, required revision to comply with...more
7/22/2019
/ Appeals ,
Confidential Information ,
Congressional Intent ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exemptions ,
Final Rules ,
FOIA ,
Food Marketing Institute v Argus Leader Media ,
Motion to Compel ,
Private Commercial or Financial Information ,
Protected Disclosures ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial-Competitive-Harm Test ,
Trade Secrets
A Summary of Published Appellate Opinions Under the California Environmental Quality Act -
The California Supreme Court issued its only CEQA opinion of 2018 at the end of the year. In Sierra Club v. County of Fresno, the...more
1/14/2019
/ Air Quality Standards ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Building Permits ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CEQA ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Excessive Noise ,
Exemptions ,
Final Judgment ,
General Plan ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Historic Preservation ,
Housing Developers ,
Mitigated Negative Declaration ,
Mixed-Use Zoning ,
Oil & Gas ,
Railroads ,
Railways ,
Real Estate Market ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Res Judicata ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sierra Club v County of Fresno ,
Standard of Review ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Substantial Evidence Standard ,
Tenants ,
Traffic Impact Assessments ,
Trucking Industry ,
Urban Planning & Development
In a unanimous decision with immediate repercussions for the administration of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Supreme Court held that an area is eligible for designation as critical habitat under the ESA only if...more
11/30/2018
/ Appeals ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Economic Impact Analysis ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Judicial Review ,
Private Property ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Weyerhaeuser Company v United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The Federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a district court order requiring that the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Corps of Engineers, and the Bureau of Reclamation conduct spill operations...more
11/26/2018
/ Appeals ,
Bureau of Reclamation ,
Climate Change ,
Dams ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Injunctions ,
Irreparable Harm ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Salmon ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
A core principle of the California Coastal Act is to maximize public access to the coast, including recreational opportunities in the coastal zone. The Court of Appeal determined that the Coastal Commission acted within its...more
11/7/2018
/ Appeals ,
Beach Access ,
California Coastal Commission ,
Construction Project ,
Hotels ,
Jurisdiction ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
Ports ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Access Laws ,
Recreation ,
Reversal ,
Zoning Laws