Plans to build the largest new reservoir in California in 50 years have taken a significant step forward following a judge’s decision last Friday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by environmental groups challenging the adequacy of...more
6/10/2024
/ California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CEQA ,
Department of Toxic Substances Control ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Industrial Discharges ,
NOAA ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Water Pollution ,
Water Quality
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider whether federal and state agencies must clearly define limits on wastewater pollution when issuing discharge permits. The high court took up the City of San Francisco’s...more
6/3/2024
/ Activist ,
Biden Administration ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Oil & Gas ,
Plastics ,
SCOTUS ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Wastewater
Republican attorneys general from 20 U.S. states sued the Biden administration on Tuesday, seeking to block new reforms to the U.S. environmental review process for major projects such as transmission lines and wind and solar...more
5/28/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
California ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Drought ,
Energy Projects ,
Farm Bureau ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
NEPA ,
State and Local Government ,
Water Rights ,
Wildlife Protection
A coalition of 17 states led by Nebraska is suing California for creating ZEV standards for trucking fleets, saying the state’s rule violates the Constitution’s Commerce Clause. California’s Advanced Clean Fleets regulation,...more
5/20/2024
/ California ,
CARB ,
Commerce Clause ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Environmental Policies ,
Governor Newsom ,
Oil Wells ,
Orphan Wells ,
Salmon ,
Scientific Research ,
State Budgets ,
Trucking Industry ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday finalized tougher methane reporting standards that could increase the number of oil and gas companies that must pay fees for excess methane emissions....more
5/14/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
Biden Administration ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Dams ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Flood Control ,
Flooding ,
Groundwater ,
Methane ,
NOAA ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Storm Water ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
A new lawsuit filed in April by public drinking water systems in California against manufacturers of “forever chemicals” is among the first to cite new Biden administration EPA regulations that set strict limits for the...more
5/6/2024
/ California ,
CEQ ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Joe Biden ,
Lead ,
National Parks ,
NEPA ,
PFAS ,
San Francisco ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Waste Disposal
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced a goal to protect and restore 8 million acres of wetlands over the next six years in an effort to counter development pressures and recently weakened federal regulations. The new...more
4/29/2024
/ California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Water Act ,
Coal Mines ,
Dams ,
Department of the Interior ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
State and Local Government ,
Wetlands
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today designated two types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have been used in cookware, carpets, and firefighting foams as hazardous substances, an action...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stayed new climate-related disclosure requirements pending judicial review, the agency said on Thursday, after criticism from across the political spectrum. The SEC’s...more
4/8/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
Clean Air Act ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Herbicides ,
PFAS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
State and Local Government ,
Stays ,
Water Supplies
The Biden administration issued a final rule this Wednesday aimed at curbing methane leaks from oil and gas drilling on federal and tribal lands. Adoption of the rule is its latest action to crack down on emissions of...more
4/1/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Cross-Border ,
Department of the Interior ,
Department of Water Resources ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
PFAS ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Well Drilling
A lawsuit challenging the federal government’s interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest ruling in Sackett v. EPA on waters of the United States, or WOTUS, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of...more
In response to critics who said that proposed new statewide water conservation rules — aimed at cutting urban water use even in years when California is not in a drought — were too complicated and costly, the State Water...more
3/18/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
California ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Landfills ,
Methane ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pollution Control ,
Rivers ,
Texas ,
Water Conservation ,
Water Pollution ,
Well Drilling
A coalition of conservation groups filed a petition on Tuesday asking the California Fish and Game Commission to protect burrowing owl populations in five parts of the state including parts of the Bay Area and the Central...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Thursday that it is delaying planned rules to curb emissions from existing natural gas plants. The agency said it is still on track to finalize rules for coal-fired power...more
3/4/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
CARB ,
Clean-Up Costs ,
Coast Guard ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FEMA ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Landfills ,
Natural Gas ,
Wastewater
During arguments on Wednesday in the most significant environmental dispute before the U.S. Supreme Court this year, the Court's conservative justices expressed skepticism over the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to...more
2/26/2024
/ Board of Supervisors ,
California ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Farmers ,
Gold ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Mining ,
Pipelines ,
Radioactive Drilling Waste ,
SCOTUS ,
Waste ,
Water
The California Department of Conservation last Friday released a proposal to stop issuing permits for well stimulation treatments, commonly known as fracking. Most fracking operations in California are carried out in oil...more
2/19/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Air Quality Standards ,
California ,
Department of the Interior ,
Farmers ,
Fracking ,
Plastic Bag Bans ,
Quest Diagnostics ,
Tribal Lands ,
Waste ,
Water Resources Control Board
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday set tougher standards for emissions of fine particulate matter or “PM 2.5,” saying the new standards would save thousands of lives nationwide....more
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, California Chamber of Commerce, American Farm Bureau Federation, and other groups sued California on Tuesday in federal court over the most sweeping climate disclosure mandates in the nation,...more
2/5/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Dams ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Governor Newsom ,
PFAS ,
Salmon ,
State and Local Government ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Wastewater
A California appellate panel has handed environmental and community groups a legal victory in their decades-long dispute with the Port of Los Angeles over its failure to enforce air pollution controls at China Shipping's...more
1/29/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
China ,
Coal ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Lithium Batteries ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Waste Management ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
In a new study, researchers from NYU, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Defend Our Health have estimated the costs of plastic exposure on the U.S. healthcare system. In 2018, several common endocrine disruptors, a...more
1/22/2024
/ California ,
Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Drought ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Methane ,
Oil & Gas ,
State and Local Government ,
Waste ,
Water Resources Control Board ,
Water Supplies
A San Jerardo cooperative in the Salinas area, together with environmental organizations, have sued the state, demanding stricter rules to govern the amount of fertilizer farmers can use. They allege that nitrate...more
1/8/2024
/ California ,
CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Dams ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Farmers ,
Fertilizers ,
Food Supply ,
State and Local Government ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Water Quality Control Boards ,
Water Resources Control Board
Truck engine maker Cummins Inc. has agreed in principle to pay a $1.675 billion civil penalty for installing devices on hundreds of thousands of engines to allow them to emit excess pollution. According to the U.S. Department...more
1/8/2024
/ California ,
CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Marine Life Protections ,
Pesticides ,
State and Local Government ,
Trucking Industry ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Well Drilling
A group of 18 California children – ranging in ages from 8 to 17 – has filed a new constitutional climate case in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...more
The power to enforce a rule intended to slash air pollution associated with warehouses could one day rest in the hands of citizens who are willing to go to federal court. Several Inland members of Congress recently signed a...more
12/11/2023
/ Air Pollution ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Methane ,
Oil & Gas ,
PFAS ,
Pipelines ,
Reclaimed Water ,
Tribal Lands ,
Water Rights
Most U.S. cities would have to replace lead water pipes within 10 years under strict new rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the Biden administration moves to reduce lead in drinking water and...more
12/4/2023
/ California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Flood Zones ,
Lead ,
Refineries ,
State Department of Fish and Wildlife