In a partially published decision in People ex rel. Bonta v. County of Lake (Oct. 13, 2024, A165677) __ Cal. App. __ [2024 Cal.App. LEXIS 667], the First District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s ruling in favor of...more
On September 17, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proposed listing the Kentucky creekshell (Villosa ortmanni) as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and designating critical habitat...more
On July 24, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its Draft Insecticide Strategy to Reduce Exposure of Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Species and Designated Critical Habitats from the Use of...more
7/30/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Insecticide ,
Pesticides ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure
On June 28, 2024, in a momentous 6-3 decision upending 40 years of precedent, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron doctrine, which required courts to defer to an administrative agency’s reasonable interpretation of...more
This is the final in our series of eAlerts on the Council of Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) Phase 2 revisions to its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, published on May 1, 2024 (Final Rule)....more
On March 27, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) made available pre-publication versions of the agencies’ long-awaited updates to...more
4/1/2024
/ Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On February 1, 2024, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed an amended complaint (Complaint) in the U.S. District Court of Arizona, alleging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) failed to timely analyze the...more
2/8/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Center for Biological Diversity ,
Chemicals ,
Critical Habitat ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Pesticides ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
As we have previously reported, on December 6, the Biden Administration released the Fall 2023 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda), which lists the regulatory and deregulatory actions that...more
12/15/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Final Rules ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process
On October 3, 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published two proposed rules to list three species—the northwestern pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata), the southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida), and the...more
A recent court decision provides guidance to lead agencies seeking to comply with CEQA requirements related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In Tsakopoulos Investments, LLC v. County of Sacramento, the Third District Court...more