The California Air Resources Board (CARB), the agency tasked with enforcing the state’s climate disclosure rules, published guidance this Wednesday on how companies can comply with Senate Bills 253 and 261 (which govern...more
7/18/2025
/ California ,
CARB ,
Climate Change ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Flooding ,
Marin County ,
New Legislation ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pesticides ,
Public Health ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
The Trump administration will uphold a Biden-era ban on the ongoing use of asbestos after previously saying it would reconsider the rule. The rule requires companies to phase out their use of chrysotile asbestos, which is the...more
On June 30, 2025, Governor Newsom signed two budget trailer bills into law: Assembly Bill 130 and Senate Bill 131, which reform the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) effective immediately. As explained by the...more
7/7/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
California ,
CEQA ,
CEQA Reform ,
Environmental Policies ,
Governor Newsom ,
Housing Developers ,
Infrastructure ,
New Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State Legislatures
The Trump administration’s plan to repeal a rule prohibiting logging and road construction in undeveloped parts of national forests would remove protection from more than 4 million acres of forestland within California’s...more
California stands at a pivotal juncture in 2025, confronting an array of environmental and housing challenges. As usual, the California State Legislature is considering numerous strategies to address these issues. This year’s...more
6/24/2025
/ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ,
Affordable Housing ,
California ,
California Coastal Commission ,
California Endangered Species Act ,
CEQA ,
Citizen Suits ,
Clean Energy ,
Demolition ,
Density Bonus ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Impact Fees ,
Natural Disasters ,
Natural Resources ,
New Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Sackett v EPA ,
Water Conservation ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands ,
Wildfires
California’s regulatory authority over “waters of the state” continues to grow even as the federal definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) narrows under shifting legal and regulatory frameworks. In Sackett v. EPA...more
6/23/2025
/ California ,
Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Permits ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sackett v EPA ,
Waste Disposal ,
Water Quality ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
California is often the vanguard of climate-related policies and programs. From legislation requiring the state to reduce overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and procure electricity from renewable and carbon-free sources...more
6/20/2025
/ California ,
CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Legislation ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved this Wednesday to erase limits on greenhouse gases from power plants and to weaken restrictions on other hazardous power plant emissions, including mercury, arsenic, and...more
6/16/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
California ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
On May 29, 2025, the Supreme Court held that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) — which requires federal agencies to analyze the environmental impacts of projects that they perform, fund, or approve — does not...more
6/9/2025
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Government Agencies ,
Hazardous Substances ,
NEPA ,
Pollution Control ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
State and Local Government
The Senate on Thursday blocked California’s landmark plan to phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles, setting up a legal battle that could shape the electric car market in the United States. The consequences of...more
5/27/2025
/ California ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will rescind much of the Biden administration’s first nationwide drinking water standard aimed at protecting people from PFAS, which are found in hundreds of consumer and...more
The House passed resolutions last week to rescind federal waivers that allow California to set stricter vehicle emissions standards than the rest of the country. California’s standards currently require the sale of most...more
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) circulated a draft template, dated April 8, 2025, to assist federal agencies in updating their procedures for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)....more
5/2/2025
/ Air Quality Standards ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CEQ ,
Clean Air Act ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Government Agencies ,
Kinder Morgan ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
SCOTUS ,
Water
The Trump administration is moving to effectively eliminate a crucial protection in the half-century-old federal Endangered Species Act by redefining a single word: harm. A proposed rule, issued this Wednesday from the U.S....more
4/18/2025
/ California ,
Clean Water Act ,
Critical Habitat ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Government Agencies ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
NOAA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pollution Control ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Health ,
Refineries ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
President Trump issued an executive order this Tuesday taking aim at state and local climate change laws and policies, including California’s landmark market program for reducing greenhouse gases. The order directs U.S....more
The Trump administration is offering coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities an opportunity to obtain exemptions from Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements designed to reduce emissions of chemicals such as mercury,...more
On Tuesday, in a 5-4 opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alioto, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a pivotal ruling that the Clean Water Act (CWA) provisions authorizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impose...more
3/7/2025
/ California ,
City and County of San Francisco v Environmental Protection Agency ,
Clean Water Act ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Logging ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Sewer Systems ,
Trump Administration ,
Wastewater
On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in City and County of San Francisco, California v. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. No. 23-753 in which the City and County of San Francisco (San Francisco)...more
On February 20, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) posted a pre-publication notice on its website of an Interim Final Rule rescinding its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act...more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday that it won’t order soil testing at properties damaged by the Eaton and Palisades fires after they have been cleaned by private federal contractors, breaking with a...more
Newly-appointed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a memo this Wednesday that the Justice Department will reverse a Biden-era directive to prioritize enforcement of environmental laws in disadvantaged and low-income...more
2/7/2025
/ Attorney General ,
Bureau of Land Management ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Oil & Gas ,
PFAS ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
Water ,
Wildfires
On Monday, January 13, 2025, California withdrew requests for Clean Air Act waivers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needed to support four recently adopted vehicle emissions regulations: 1) the Advanced...more
1/17/2025
/ Automotive Industry ,
California ,
CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Fertilizers ,
National Emissions Standards ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
SCOTUS ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On Monday, January 13, 2025, California withdrew requests for Clean Air Act waivers from the EPA needed to support four recently adopted vehicle emissions regulations: 1) the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulations; 2) the In-Use...more
The White House announced on Monday that President Joe Biden would ban new offshore oil and gas drilling along most of the U.S. coastline. The order will protect 625 million acres of ocean along America’s Atlantic and Pacific...more
1/10/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Recycling ,
Water
On December 12, 2024, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife released its draft Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan (Draft Conservation Plan) to the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission), as required by...more
12/23/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
California Fish and Game Commission ,
CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Conservation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Donald Trump ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Landfills ,
State and Local Government ,
Well Drilling