Focus
California issues additional guidance on climate-risk disclosure laws
Smart Cities Dive – July 15
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 climate-risk disclosures), and when companies are required to submit initial reports. The agency outlined its process for transitioning the climate disclosure legislation into a final regulation and shared what steps it has taken so far, which include preparing for rulemaking, issuing an enforcement notice, and receiving public input. CARB also provided new information on how companies should report under SB 261, the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act, which applies to companies operating in California with annual revenues over $500 million. Please see our recent alert here for more information on these climate disclosure measures, including reporting requirements, processes, and penalties for noncompliance.
News
Project applicants can now pay for expedited federal environmental review under NEPA
Allen Matkins – July 16
The budget reconciliation bill signed into law on July 4 (also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill”) adds a new provision to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that allows project sponsors/applicants to pay for expedited completion of an environmental review document. This is the latest in a recent spate of congressional and executive branch actions intended to speed up the environmental review process under NEPA, which requires federal agencies to analyze environmental impacts of projects that they carry out (including private projects that require federal agency approval or receive federal funding).
Trump administration eyes California for new oil and gas drilling — including Bay Area
San Francisco Chronicle – July 12
The Trump administration has taken a first step toward opening more of California for oil and gas development, launching reviews of potential extraction sites in mineral strongholds such as Kern County as well as in less explored places like the Bay Area. The federal government has not issued a drilling lease in California for years, largely due to environmental hurdles. While existing oil and gas wells still operate under older leases in parts of the state, officials say these new reviews will address the standstill and could clear the way for fossil fuel companies to operate on additional federal lands, with the possibility of hundreds of new wells in the state.
Lawsuit claims pesticides threaten Central Coast schoolchildren
KSBW - July 14
A lawsuit filed against state and Monterey County regulators claims that six permits were illegally approved last year allowing dangerous pesticides to be sprayed near Central Coast schools, putting children's health at risk due to insufficient oversight. The lawsuit, filed by the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, Californians for Pesticide Reform, and other advocacy groups, claims that regulators violated state environmental laws by approving these pesticides without considering the long-term health impacts of pesticide exposure. The Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner's Office declined to comment due to the pending case but released a statement emphasizing its commitment to safety.
Bicameral bill to address Tijuana River pollution introduced in Congress
NBC San Diego – July 11
Democratic leaders in both houses of Congress last Thursday introduced legislation—the Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act of 2025—to appoint the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as the lead agency, to create a new geographic program to manage each watershed through a comprehensive water quality management plan to help combat the ongoing Tijuana River sewage pollution across the U.S.-Mexico border. Additionally, the legislation would require the EPA to identify a consensus list of priority projects including a suite of projects identified by EPA and the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) in the 2022 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement implementation plan. Since 2018, more than 200 billion gallons of toxic sewage, trash, and unmanaged stormwater have flowed across the United States-Mexico border into the Tijuana River Valley and neighboring communities.
Ross to regulate flooding caused by home projects
Marin Independent Journal – July 16
In an effort to reduce stormwater runoff and localized flooding, the Town Council for Ross on Thursday approved new design guidelines for projects that add nonporous, hard surfaces to residential properties. State law already requires that stormwater runoff be mitigated on projects that create over 2,500 square feet of impervious surfaces, but residential projects in Ross rarely trigger the state law, according to the staff report. To mitigate increases in runoff, projects adding impermeable surfaces should route stormwater into a bioretention basin under the new guidelines.
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