The Trump administration is moving to effectively eliminate a crucial protection in the half-century-old federal Endangered Species Act by redefining a single word: harm. A proposed rule, issued this Wednesday from the U.S....more
4/18/2025
/ California ,
Clean Water Act ,
Critical Habitat ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Government Agencies ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
NOAA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pollution Control ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Health ,
Refineries ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
President Trump issued an executive order this Tuesday taking aim at state and local climate change laws and policies, including California’s landmark market program for reducing greenhouse gases. The order directs U.S....more
As part of a continued effort to expedite rebuilding after Los Angeles' devastating firestorms, Governor Gavin Newsom this week suspended California environmental laws for utility providers working to reinstall key...more
The Trump administration is offering coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities an opportunity to obtain exemptions from Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements designed to reduce emissions of chemicals such as mercury,...more
President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plans to terminate lease contracts at nearly two dozen California offices relating to science, agriculture, and the environment, according to its federal...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this Wednesday that it will narrow the definition of waters that can be federally regulated to comply with the Supreme Court's 2023 Sackett v. EPA ruling. This...more
On Tuesday, in a 5-4 opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alioto, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a pivotal ruling that the Clean Water Act (CWA) provisions authorizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impose...more
3/7/2025
/ California ,
City and County of San Francisco v Environmental Protection Agency ,
Clean Water Act ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Logging ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Sewer Systems ,
Trump Administration ,
Wastewater
On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in City and County of San Francisco, California v. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. No. 23-753 in which the City and County of San Francisco (San Francisco)...more
On February 20, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) posted a pre-publication notice on its website of an Interim Final Rule rescinding its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act...more
The Trump administration is taking steps to challenge California’s authority to set stricter vehicle emissions standards by targeting state rules that mandate the sale of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). Last Friday, U.S....more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday that it won’t order soil testing at properties damaged by the Eaton and Palisades fires after they have been cleaned by private federal contractors, breaking with a...more
Newly-appointed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a memo this Wednesday that the Justice Department will reverse a Biden-era directive to prioritize enforcement of environmental laws in disadvantaged and low-income...more
2/7/2025
/ Attorney General ,
Bureau of Land Management ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Oil & Gas ,
PFAS ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
Water ,
Wildfires
The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause its review of a case involving California’s stricter vehicle emissions and electric vehicle standards. Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris filed the request...more
2/3/2025
/ California ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Oil & Gas ,
Paris Agreement ,
SCOTUS ,
State Health Departments ,
State Legislatures ,
Trump Administration ,
Water ,
Wildfires
On Monday, January 13, 2025, California withdrew requests for Clean Air Act waivers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needed to support four recently adopted vehicle emissions regulations: 1) the Advanced...more
1/17/2025
/ Automotive Industry ,
California ,
CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Fertilizers ,
National Emissions Standards ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
SCOTUS ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On Monday, January 13, 2025, California withdrew requests for Clean Air Act waivers from the EPA needed to support four recently adopted vehicle emissions regulations: 1) the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulations; 2) the In-Use...more
The White House announced on Monday that President Joe Biden would ban new offshore oil and gas drilling along most of the U.S. coastline. The order will protect 625 million acres of ocean along America’s Atlantic and Pacific...more
1/10/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Recycling ,
Water
On December 12, 2024, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife released its draft Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan (Draft Conservation Plan) to the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission), as required by...more
12/23/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
California Fish and Game Commission ,
CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Conservation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Donald Trump ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Landfills ,
State and Local Government ,
Well Drilling
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday banned two solvents found in everyday products that can cause cancer and other serious diseases. It was a move long sought by environmental and health advocates, even...more
12/13/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
Cancer ,
Drinking Water ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Water Supplies
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday issued a new regulation preventing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, from being approved through low volume exemptions — abridged reviews...more
12/6/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
California ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Infrastructure ,
Native American Issues ,
Oil & Gas ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Settlement ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Trump Administration ,
Water
In a settlement approved by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board on November 13, the City of Oceanside agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine for two separate spills that sent raw sewage into the Buena Vista Creek...more
11/25/2024
/ Agricultural Land ,
California ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
State and Local Government ,
Toxic Spills ,
Union Pacific ,
Water Quality Control Boards ,
Water Supplies
One of the Bay Area’s largest reservoirs is about to get bigger thanks to a partnership between local water agencies and the federal government. The San Luis Reservoir Dam, between Los Banos and Gilroy, will be raised 10 feet...more
11/18/2024
/ California ,
CARB ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Landfills ,
Low Carbon Fuel Standard ,
Methane ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Spills ,
State and Local Government ,
Wastewater ,
Water Supplies
In the last four years, California has adopted some of the nation’s most innovative air regulations, including a ban on new gasoline-powered car sales by 2035 and a prohibition against diesel-fueled trucks visiting state...more
11/8/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Ballot Measures ,
California ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Environmental Policies ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Infrastructure ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Waste Disposal ,
Water ,
Wildfires
Two weeks after setting a nationwide deadline for removal of lead pipes, the Biden administration is imposing strict new limits on dust from lead-based paint in older homes and child-care facilities....more
11/4/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Lead Paint ,
Net Zero ,
Plastics ,
Popular ,
Recycling ,
Refineries ,
State and Local Government ,
Wal-Mart
California officials have been working on a plan to preserve the state’s leading edge environmental and climate policies, in the event that former President Donald J. Trump returns to the White House and follows through on...more
10/18/2024
/ California ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Marine Life Protections ,
Methane ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pollution Control ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement
At its October 10 meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission (the Commission) unanimously found that a petition to list the western burrowing owl as an endangered or threatened species in California provides sufficient...more
10/14/2024
/ California ,
California Endangered Species Act ,
California Fish and Game Commission ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Joe Biden ,
Lead Poisoning ,
Methane ,
Oil & Gas ,
State and Local Government ,
Superfund ,
Tribal Governments ,
Tribal Lands ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Wastewater ,
Water Pollution ,
Water Quality