Building on recent public pronouncements, two California legislators have proposed new legislation that would regulate water usage during the hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” process. Fracking involves injecting a high pressure stream…
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California Senators Darrel Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) have each introduced legislation to amend the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). Senator Steinberg’s bill, SB 731, introduced on Februar…
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Save Cuyama Valley v. County of Santa Barbara (2013) ___ Cal.App.4th ___ In Save Cuyama Valley v. County of Santa Barbara (2013) ___ Cal.App.4th ___, a California Court of Appeal has ruled that a lead agency need not use the CEQA Guidelines Appendix…
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Banning Ranch Conservancy v. City of Newport Beach (2012) 211 Cal.App.4th 1209 In Banning Ranch Conservancy v. City of Newport Beach (2012) 211 Cal.App.4th 1209, a California court rejected claims that a city “piecemealed” its CEQA review…
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Dine Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment v. United States Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 2013 WL 68701 In Dine Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment v. United States Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement,…
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Sierra Club v. Kenna 2013 WL 144251 The Bureau of Land Management’s NEPA Handbook contains several hypotheticals to illustrate NEPA concepts. In the case of federal access roads to reach private landholdings, the Handbook includes this scenario…
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On February 13, 2013, the California State Senate Natural Resources Committee and the Water and Environmental Quality Committee will hold a joint hearing to discuss the potential regulation of a hydrocarbon extraction technique known as “hydrau…
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Impact Energy Resources, LLC v. Salazar 693 F.3d 1239 (per curiam) A recent decision by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals confirms the fundamental importance of ensuring that a lawsuit challenging an adverse regulatory decision is filed within the t…
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Introduction and Overview In July 2012, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) released a new revision of its general permit for storm water discharges from industrial activities (2012 Draft Permit). This process of updating the permit began…
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Karuk Tribe of California v. US Forest Service (2012) 681 F.3d 1006 In Karuk Tribe of California v. US Forest Service (2012) 681 F.3d 1006, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided in a 7-4 en banc (full court) decision to require the US Forest Ser…
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