On January 14, 2021, the United States Department of Labor published a final rule in the Federal Register that increases the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (“MSHA”) civil monetary penalties. As is required every year, the civil penalti…
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On July 27, 2020, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division announced that the federal government will not, as a general policy, seek civil penalties in Clean Water Act (…
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Redondo Beach Waterfront, LLC v. City of Redondo Beach 2020 Cal. App. LEXIS 634 July 2020 California’s Second Appellate District has upheld statutorily conferred vested development rights from challenge by a later approved citizens’ initiative. T…
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California’s State Water Resources Control Board continues to advance its development of general waste discharge requirements (“WDRs”) for wineries. On July 3, 2020, the board gave notice of a July 22, 2020 online public workshop and scheduled…
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June 2020 In a continuing response to COVID-19, on June 29, 2020, the three California cannabis agencies (the Bureau of Cannabis Control, California Department of Food and Agriculture CalCannabis, and the California Department of Public Health Manufa…
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May 2020 On April 2, 2020, the Court of Appeal affirmed that CEQA’s accelerated statute of limitations on court challenges apply, regardless of whether the agency lacked authority to approve the project or make the CEQA determination in the first i…
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April 2020 On April 22, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-54-20, which modifies the requirements for posting certain notices under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and lengthens the timeframe for tribal consultation. The E…
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April 2020 The U.S. Supreme Court has held, in County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, et al., that point-source discharges to groundwater require a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit if the discharge is “the functional equivalent of a direct dis…
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April 2020 This article summarizes operational changes the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) will make in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes were discussed in MSHA’s April 16, 2020 Quarterly Stakeholder Call. To begin…
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Communities for a Better Environment v. South Coast Air Quality Management District 2020 Cal. App. LEXIS 285 April 15, 2020 California’s Second Appellate District, in a well-written opinion, held that a CEQA baseline for a refinery was properly mea…
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