Senator Michael Rubio (D-Shafter) announced today that he is resigning from the California State Senate, effective today. Senator Rubio made headlines at the end of the 2012 legislative session when he introduced a bill to significantly reform the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). At that time, he agreed to work with Senator Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento)
Valley Land Owner’s Bid to Derail High Speed Rail Is Denied
In the continuing legal battle between Central Valley agricultural interests and California’s high-speed rail (“HSR”) project, plaintiffs in three separate lawsuits in Sacramento County Superior Court requested a preliminary injunction to stop all work associated with the initial segment of the HSR between Merced and Fresno until a ruling on the lawsuits’ merits. On November
Newly Published CEQA Decision Sets Precedent Regarding EIR Project Alternatives
My colleague, Barbara Brenner, posted an environmental law alert on the recently published CEQA decision issued by the California Third District Court of Appeal in Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Ctr. v. County of Siskiyou, No. C064930, 2012 Cal. App. LEXIS 1088 (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 26, 2012). The case is significant because it
Environmental Groups Sue DOGGR Over Fracking Permits
Environmental groups filed a complaint today in Alameda County Superior Court against the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) alleging that DOGGR violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by issuing permits for oil and gas wells that allowed hydraulic fracturing activities without sufficient environmental review. The complaint alleges that there are several environmental and public health impacts associated with fracking that DOGGR fails to consider in its CEQA analyses for oil and gas well permits. The complaint also alleges that DOGGR improperly excludes new oil and gas well permits from CEQA based on categorical exemptions for minor alternations to land or existing facilities.
Continue Reading Environmental Groups Sue DOGGR Over Fracking Permits
DOGGR Supervisor, Elena Miller, Has Been Removed
After intense lobbying from Central Valley legislators and the oil and gas exploration and production industry, on November 3, 2011, Governor Jerry Brown removed Elena Miller as Supervisor of the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) within the Department of Conservation. Appointed in 2009, Miller’s tenure as the DOGGR Supervisor has been plagued
Proposed California Legislation To Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing Stalls In State Senate With A New Hydraulic Fracturing Bill Poised for Introduction In 2012
Falling victim to a Legislature pre-occupied with massive budget deficit issues and last minute wrangling over the Governor’s corporate tax package on out-of-state companies, AB 591, California’s legislative foray into the charged arena of hydraulic fracturing regulation, stalled in the State Senate’s Appropriations Committee. In its current form, the bill embodied a fairly comprehensive
DRECP EIS/EIR Scoping Meeting at the Energy Commission
It’s a double header at the California Energy Commission (CEC) today. The Renewable Energy Action Team – comprised of the CEC, the California Department of Fish and Game, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) – is holding two public scoping meetings for the combined environment impact statement/environmental
Ban on Plastic Bags Provides Definitive Rule on CEQA Standing
The California Supreme Court’s ruling on Save the Plastic Bag Coalition v. City of Manhattan Beach decided two important issues regarding the interpretation and application of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). First, the Court decided the city of Manhattan Beach was not required to prepare an environmental impact report (EIR) under CEQA before enacting
CARB Issues Supplement to A.B. 32 Scoping Plan Environmental Review
Yesterday, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released a Supplement to its Functional Equivalent Document (FED) for the A.B. 32 Climate Change Scoping Plan – the environmental review document for the Scoping Plan. The Supplement was prepared as a result of a ruling against CARB in Association of Irritated Residents, et al. v. California Air
EBMUD’s CEQA Review of Water Supply Plan Found Partially Inadequate
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley’s recent ruling (PDF) in the case challenging East Bay Municipal Utility District’s (EBMUD) approval of its updated water supply plan is a reminder of the importance of fully disclosing potential impacts of a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), even when the CEQA project is a programmatic