Ex Parte Communications with the Water Boards Are Now Permissible
October 9, 2012, by Sarah N. Quiter Public entities, businesses, and anyone else regulated by the State and Regional Water Boards have something new to cheer about: ex parte communications are now...
View ArticleU.S. Supreme Court Reverses Ninth Circuit Ruling on Municipal Storm Water...
January 15, 2013, by Gregory J. Newmark, Sarah N. Quiter Good news for owners and operators of municipal separate storm sewer systems, also known as "MS4s." In Los Angeles County Flood Control...
View ArticleReturn of the Mountain Devil?
February 11, 2013, by Dawn McIntoshOn February 4, 2013, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued a proposed rule to designate the U.S. populations of the wolverine, known as the “mountain...
View ArticleState Supreme Court to Consider Whether Ballot Initiative Process Can Bypass...
February 19, 2013, by Sarah N. Quiter The California Supreme Court has unanimously decided to accept review of Tuolumne Jobs & Small Business Alliance v. Superior Court. The plaintiff alleges that...
View ArticleFederal Circuit Finds No Foul From Fish Flows
March 1, 2013, by Dawn McIntoshThe Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a decision from the Court of Federal Claims finding that appropriative water rights in California are property interests...
View ArticleCourt Finds 482 Page Biological Opinion for Pesticide Registration Is Not...
March 6, 2013, by Dawn McIntoshThe Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (“NMFS”) 482 page biological opinion finding that the EPA’s proposed process for...
View ArticleThe U.S. Forest Service Gets a Mixed Bag from the U.S. Supreme Court
March 19, 2013, by Dawn McIntoshOn Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the process by which the federal government measures the environmental impact of its land use plans, granting the U.S....
View ArticleState Bill Equivalent of Polanco Act Clears Legislative Hurdle
April 25, 2013, by Meyers NaveAB 440 (Gatto) would allow cities, counties and housing authorities to compel cleanup of contaminated properties in their jurisdiction, similar authority to the Polanco...
View ArticleFourth Draft of Statewide Industrial Storm Water Permit Available for Public...
July 23, 2013, by Sarah N. Quiter On Friday, July 19, the State Water Resources Control Board ("State Water Board") issued the latest draft of the Statewide General National Pollutant Discharge...
View ArticleGovernor Brown Signs AB 440
October 8, 2013, by Meyers NaveDoes your city have a contaminated, boarded-up, abandoned, graffiti- and trash-encrusted property sitting in the middle of what was a vibrant and busy area? In the good...
View ArticleCourt of Appeal Issues Narrow Opinion on Subvention for Municipal Stormwater...
October 21, 2013, by Gregory J. Newmark, Sarah N. Quiter The California Court of Appeal recently issued the first published decision that adjudicates a municipal stormwater test claim on the merits....
View ArticleWhere the Rubber Meets the Road
November 4, 2013, by Sarah N. Quiter Two new California laws will become effective on January 1, 2014, which will make it easier for cities, counties, and other government agencies to promote the use...
View ArticleRegulatory Scope of "Waters of the United States" to be Clarified
March 31, 2014, by Gregory J. Newmark, Sarah N. Quiter Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ("Agencies") jointly released a proposed rule that...
View ArticleEven In Drought, Water Must Be Managed To Protect Delta Fish
May 14, 2014, by Dawn McIntoshThe Ninth Circuit recently issued two controversial opinions which uphold efforts to protect the delta smelt, a small fish endemic to the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta that...
View ArticleNinth Circuit Expands Judicial Scrutiny of CERCLA Settlements
August 8, 2014, by Gregory J. Newmark, Sarah N. Quiter The Ninth Circuit recently issued an opinion that emphasizes the obligation of district courts to independently review the adequacy of proposed...
View ArticleContaminated Sediment: Appellate Court Muddies the Water for TMDLs
Attorney Authors: Gregory J. NewmarkSarah N. Quiter On March 30, a short opinion from California’s Second Appellate District raised a long list of unanswered questions in a case concerning a Regional...
View ArticleGovernor’s Drought Executive Order Will Impact Local Agency Water Suppliers...
Attorney Authors: John D. BakkerGregory J. NewmarkOn April 2, Governor Brown issued the third and most significant in a series of Executive Orders addressing the ongoing drought. They followed his 2014...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....