In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit struck down key portions of a 2018 order by the Federal Communications Commission that would have exempted certain small wireless facilities from...more
8/15/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Amended Rules ,
Environmental Review ,
FCC ,
Historic Preservation ,
National Historic Preservation Act ,
NEPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Tribal Lands ,
Vacated ,
Wireless Facilities ,
Wireless Industry
An inverse condemnation challenge to a permit denial is not ripe until the government makes a final determination regarding the scope of allowable development on a plaintiff’s property, the California Court of Appeal held in...more
Planning and zoning decisions by a non-legislative body or public official authorized under a municipal code are subject to the 90-day statute of limitations of Government Code section 65009(c)(1), the court of appeal ruled...more
The Council on Environmental Quality published draft guidance June 26, 2019, on how to assess greenhouse gas emissions under the National Environmental Policy Act, the law that requires environmental impact assessment for...more
Local governments may require a permit conditioned on compatibility with aesthetic standards to install and maintain wireless communications infrastructure in the public right-of-way, the California Supreme Court held in...more
4/25/2019
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Infrastructure ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Local Aesthetic Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Preemption ,
Public Utilities Commission ,
Public Utility ,
Right of Way ,
Telecommunications ,
Wireless Facilities
A court challenge to a local agency’s decision to grant a coastal development permit becomes moot when the Coastal Commission accepts an appeal of the decision, the California court of appeal ruled in Fudge v. City of Laguna...more
Twenty years was a reasonable period of time for a public agency to accept a right-of-way dedication offer by physically occupying the property. Prout v. Department of Transportation, 31 Cal. App. 5th 200 (2019).
Prout...more
2/27/2019
/ Breach of Contract ,
Cross-Complaints ,
Deeds ,
Encroachments ,
Exactions ,
Highways ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Occupancy ,
Promissory Estoppel ,
Property Dedication ,
Public Agencies ,
Residential Property Owners ,
Right of Way ,
Specific Performance ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Subdivision ,
Takings Clause
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
A federal court recently prohibited the U.S. Department of the Interior from approving any plans or permits for offshore fracking off the California coast until it complies with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the...more
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers announced a proposed rule to redefine the term “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act on December 11, 2018. The proposed rule, which awaits...more
12/18/2018
/ Bright-Line Rule ,
Certiorari ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Jurisdiction ,
NEPA ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Water ,
Waters of the United States
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 California Court of Appeal rejected a facial challenge to the EIR addendum process, and held that an agency is not required to make new findings in connection with approval of an EIR addendum. Save Our Heritage...more
In the latest decision in the long-running legal saga over the proposed Newhall Ranch development in Los Angeles County, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the Army Corps of Engineers’ EIS and Section 404...more
10/17/2018
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Navigable Waters ,
NEPA ,
Scientific Evidence ,
Section 404 ,
Standing ,
State Department of Fish and Wildlife ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Wastewater ,
Water Quality
Claims of significant noise impact unsupported by expert opinion, fact, or reasonable inference did not provide grounds for challenging a negative declaration, the court of appeal held in Jensen v. City of Santa Rosa, 23 Cal....more
The Council on Environmental Quality yesterday issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking inviting input on potential changes to the CEQ regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act, the federal law that...more
On April 9, 2018, the heads of a dozen federal agencies executed a memorandum of understanding on implementation of Executive Order 13807, which directed federal agencies to expedite environmental review and permitting for...more
The Federal Communications Commission recently adopted an order containing sweeping regulatory changes to speed the deployment of advanced wireless services to provide connectivity for innovative Internet of Things, augmented...more
4/17/2018
/ 5G Network ,
Cell Towers ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Assessments ,
FCC ,
Infrastructure ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
NEPA ,
NHPA ,
Statutory Requirements ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications ,
Tribal Lands ,
Wireless Devices ,
Wireless Industry
A Clean Water Act permit is required for discharging wastewater from injection wells into groundwater where wastewater is “fairly traceable” to navigable waters, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in Hawai’i...more
The Clean Water Act requires a permit to discharge pollutants through pipes, ditches, and channels from an oyster hatchery, even though the facility would not be subject to the Act’s permitting requirements as a “concentrated...more
As reported in our prior Update, in a decision issued on January 22, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense, 138 S. Ct. 617, that challenges to the Obama...more
4/5/2018
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Delays ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
National Association of Manufacturers v DOD ,
Navigable Waters ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
A general plan policy that limited the size of retail tenants in certain areas of a city was not likely to cause urban decay and was not inconsistent with other general plan policies encouraging infill development, the court...more
On February 12, 2018, the White House released a set of proposals to streamline the federal environmental review process for infrastructure projects. The 55-page “Legislative Outline for Rebuilding Infrastructure in America”...more
The Washington Post last week reported a leaked White House document that revealed a far-reaching set of proposals to streamline the environmental review process for infrastructure projects. The 23-page document included more...more
2/1/2018
/ Clean Water Act ,
Construction Project ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Review ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
Funding Requirements ,
Infrastructure ,
Judicial Review ,
Land-Use Permits ,
NEPA ,
Section 401 ,
Statute of Limitations
In a unanimous decision on January 22, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that challenges to the Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Water Rule must be brought in federal district courts rather than directly in the courts of appeals....more
1/26/2018
/ Appeals ,
Case Consolidation ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
National Association of Manufacturers v DOD ,
NPDES ,
Proposed Rules ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
A certified regulatory program, which is exempt from some of CEQA’s requirements, must still comply with CEQA’s core policies and standards, which include considering feasible alternatives and cumulative impacts and...more
12/27/2017
/ CEQA ,
Economic Impact Analysis ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Pesticides ,
Petition for Writ of Mandate ,
Product Labels ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Remand ,
State and Local Government ,
Toxic Chemicals