On February 20, 2025, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) posted a pre-publication notice on its website of an Interim Final Rule that rescinds its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy...more
The California Court of Appeal’s recent decision in V Lions Farming, LLC v. County of Kern provides important clarity on the use of agricultural conservation easements (ACEs) for mitigating the conversion of agricultural land...more
2/5/2025
/ Agribusiness ,
Agricultural Sector ,
California ,
CEQA ,
Conservation ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Mitigation ,
Oil & Gas ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) (the Agencies) recently issued updated guidance for implementing 23 U.S.C. § 139 (Section 139)....more
1/3/2025
/ CEQ ,
Environmental Review ,
Federal Highway Administration ,
Federal Railroad Administration ,
Federal Transit Administration ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Guidance Update ,
NEPA ,
Notice of Intent ,
Public Comment ,
Surface Transportation
In a surprise monumental decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has no authority to issue regulations implementing NEPA and that CEQ’s NEPA...more
11/18/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Audubon Society ,
CEQ ,
Environmental Policies ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Government Agencies ,
National Park Service ,
NEPA ,
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Regulatory Authority ,
Separation of Powers ,
Statutory Authority
This article summarizes some of the most significant amendments to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that were enacted in 2023. Some housing laws that relate to CEQA are discussed in the article, “Recently...more
Two laws enacted in 2023 as part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s infrastructure streamlining package are intended to facilitate development of certain energy, water resources, transportation, semiconductor manufacturing, and other...more
As part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (also known as the debt ceiling bill) in June 2023, Congress made the most significant revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) since the statute was enacted in 1970....more
On April 12, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) new regulations for eagle take permitting under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act will go into effect. The regulations, issued on February 12, 2024,...more
Senate Bill (SB) 1227, introduced by Senator Scott Wiener on February 15, 2024, would help speed the recovery of downtown San Francisco by creating a new CEQA exemption for qualifying commercial, institutional, student...more
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published guidance on January 9, 2023, regarding how to evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires...more
The State Water Resources Control Board’s registrations of small water diversions are ministerial projects and hence exempt from CEQA. As such, allegedly erroneous registrations cannot be challenged under CEQA. Mission Peak...more
In Protect Tustin Ranch v. City of Tustin, 70 Cal. App. 5th 951 (2021), the court of appeal upheld a city’s reliance on the infill development categorical exemption under CEQA for a new gas station in an existing shopping...more
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which President Biden is expected to sign into law, contains some important changes to the federal environmental review process for surface transportation projects. Most...more
Title VIII of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), the infrastructure bill recently passed by the U.S. Senate, includes several important amendments to Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently invalidated a 2016 rule that required a 30-day notice to affected state fish and wildlife agencies prior to filing a petition to list a species as threatened or endangered under the...more
Evidence about past wildfires and the risk of future wildfires impacting residents near a proposed project does not require the lead agency to prepare an environmental impact report unless there is substantial evidence...more
A city’s ban on short-term vacation rentals in the coastal zone constitutes “development” under the California Coastal Act. Therefore, the Coastal Commission must first approve a coastal development permit, an amendment to...more
A regional water board is not required to estimate the compliance costs for individual permittees before issuing a permit. City of Duarte v. State Water Resources Control Board, 60 Cal. App. 5th 258 (2021)...more
Courts reviewing an agency’s environmental assessment under NEPA may not speculate about potential significant environmental effects that are not supported by the record — they must defer to the agency’s reasonable...more
In Santa Clara Valley Water District v. San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, No. A157127, 2020 WL 7706795 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 29, 2020), the court ruled that CEQA does not constrain an agency’s authority to...more
The First District Court of Appeal ruled that CEQA does not constrain an agency’s authority to administer and enforce any other laws, including those authorizing imposition of mitigation requirements. Thus, even after an EIR...more
A federal agency is not required to prepare an environmental impact statement for an action with uncertain environmental effects if the agency reasonably predicts that the effects will not be significant based on available...more
An agency must prepare an environmental impact statement when it fails to address expert scientific evidence that undermines its conclusions about a project’s environmental effects. An agency also must prepare an EIS when...more
The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed comprehensive changes to update its procedures under the National Environmental Policy Act in response to the Council on Environmental Quality’s July 16, 2020, overhaul of...more
A recent Ninth Circuit decision offers guidance on evaluating connected actions and cumulative impacts under NEPA. The court held that an agency can defer consideration of an action’s cumulative impacts in an EIS when the...more