Insight and Information for the Environmental & Natural Resource Industry
Earlier this week, environmental consultant Susanne Heim of Panorama Environmental and Stoel Rives water lawyer Wes Miliband hosted the second part of the California Water Webinar series about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
In this webinar, Susanne and Wes covered implications of the recently adopted emergency regulations to amend groundwater basin boundaries, as well…
California’s unique geography and climate have allowed the State to become one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. Over a third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts are grown in California. In an average year California’s agricultural industry irrigates 9.6 million acres using roughly 34 million acre-feet of water.
California’s growing demand for water has increased the pressure on California’s agriculture industry to use water more efficiently. To encourage the efficient use of agricultural water, the Department of Water Resources (“DWR”) operates the Agricultural Water Use Efficiency Grants Program (“Grant Program”). The Grant Program is funded with $30 million for agricultural water use efficiency projects.
Grants are available for two types of projects: “Implementation Projects” and “Other Projects.” “Implementation Projects” are projects that create measurable water conservation benefits. “Other Projects” create potential water conservation benefits, such as research, training, education, and public outreach.
Continue Reading DWR Put’s Money Where Its Mouth Is In Ag Water Efficiency Grant Program
On January 29, 2016, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (“BSEE”), agencies within the federal Department of the Interior (“DOI”), agreed to put a temporary moratorium on issuance of fracking permits in the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf until environmental review is conducted. The temporary moratorium is the result of a settlement agreement between the DOI and the Center for Biological Diversity (“CBD”). CBD sued the federal agencies in February 2015, alleging violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and other federal statutes. The litigation culminated in this settlement agreement.
Continue Reading No Issuance of Federal Offshore Fracking Permits Until May 2016
On January 20, 2016, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (“OPR”) released a revised draft of thresholds for measuring transportation impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). These draft thresholds are designed to promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (“GHG”) pursuant to its mandate under Senate Bill 743 (Steinberg, 2013). The initial draft was released for review in August 2014.
OPR’s revised draft is fundamentally similar to its initial draft. In particular, under both drafts, the focus of a project’s transportation impacts analysis under revised Guidelines would shift from analyzing the project’s potential to increase traffic delays to the project’s effects on GHG emissions by focusing on vehicle miles traveled (“VMT”). The CEQA Guidelines have always focused a project’s potential transportation impacts analysis on the project’s potential to increase traffic delays by analyzing the project’s level of service (“LOS”). …
Continue Reading Updates to CEQA Guidelines for Transportation Impacts Analysis Under SB 743
Taking effect earlier this month, Senate Bill 88 was approved overwhelmingly last legislative session and signed by the Governor as another effort to combat drought and water supply shortage conditions in the State of California. Senate Bill 88 – among other things – authorized the State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) to adopt…
On January 15, 2016, the Department of Conservation gave notice of an interim rulemaking package to regulate underground natural gas storage facilities. The proposed rulemaking comes in response to the continuing gas leak at an underground gas storage facility in Aliso Canyon.
Governor Brown called for the new regulations in his emergency proclamation, which…
On Thursday, December 10, environmental organizations filed a complaint against Kern County in California Superior Court alleging that the County violated the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) by preparing a “grossly inadequate” Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) for its new oil and gas rules. The Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (jointly “the Sierra Club”), along with several other local organizations, take issue with the programmatic approach of the EIR, and urge a well-by-well environmental analysis. This lawsuit comes as no surprise to the County. Environmental groups have a long history of opposing oil and gas development in Kern County, which produces over 70% of all the oil in California.
This lawsuit comes in reaction to a Kern County zoning ordinance amendment which harnessed broad local support. On November 9, 2015, the Kern County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved amendments to Title 19 of the Kern County Zoning Ordinance which provides a streamline permitting process for oil and gas operations. Notably, the new ordinance encourages oil and gas producers to work with surface owners to agree on a development plan, promoting cooperation and transparency. The amendments also required the County to conduct an extensive environmental analysis pursuant to CEQA. The Board of Supervisors certified the Final EIR after holding multiple public Scoping Meetings and reviewing various mitigation measures.Continue Reading Environmental Challenge Blasts Kern County Oil and Gas Rules
On Monday, November 30, California Department of Conservation Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) Supervisor Steven Bohlen submitted his resignation to Governor Jerry Brown, less than 18 months after taking the position.
A statement issued by Governor Brown reveals that Steven Bohlen will return to his position at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory …
In a process that took nearly three years to complete, on Monday, November 9, the Kern County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a significant change to its oil and gas regulations.
The change affects Title 19 of the Kern County Zoning Ordinance and provides a streamline permitting process for oil and gas operations. The…
On Friday, November 6, three environmental organizations filed suit against the City of Los Angeles in California Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles. The three groups, Youth for Environmental Justice, the Center for Biological Diversity and the South Central Youth Leadership Coalition, allege that the “City of Los Angeles has for years employed a pattern or practice of rubber stamping oil-drilling applications in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”).” Verified Complaint and Petition for Writ of Mandate, at 2. By categorically exempting oil-drilling projects from CEQA, the Complaint states that L.A. has permitted a disproportionately high number of drilling operations in low-income communities and neighborhoods where people of color reside. According to the environmental groups, this is a racially discriminatory practice because the City of L.A. exhibits a pattern of “developing and approving weaker conditions for drill sites in communities where a vast majority of the residents identify as Latino and black.” Id. at 26.
The Complaint focuses especially on the risks of drilling operations on children. “Because they breathe at a higher rate, and drink more water and consume more food in proportion to their body size, children receive higher doses of toxins and contaminants than adults.” Id. at 12-13. Further, in contrast to the public outcry over fracking, the environmental groups note that the emissions from oil and gas development in L.A. are associated with “traditional drilling,” not necessarily hydraulic fracturing. The Complaint also addresses the alleged risks of acidizing and gravel packing techniques, though.
Continue Reading Environmental Justice Lawsuit Accuses L.A. of Discriminatory Oil Permitting
