On-Demand Webinar | Recent Updates to Federal Environmental and Natural Resource Regulations
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On October 10, 2024, the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) unanimously voted to designate the western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) as a candidate species under the California Endangered Species...more
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, Services) proposed last week to rescind the regulatory definition of “harm” under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA),...more
The Trump administration last Wednesday proposed to loosen federal protections for endangered species. A draft rule from the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would...more
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
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, in part, “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” The federal Endangered Species Act deals with a different type of “taking.”...more
President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plans to terminate lease contracts at nearly two dozen California offices relating to science, agriculture, and the environment, according to its federal...more
The first month of President Donald Trump’s second term has seen a flurry of Executive Orders (EOs) impacting a swath of agencies, departments, and legislation. The environmental sector has been a particular focus of these...more
On January 24, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14181 (“EO 14181”), entitled “Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas.” While alluding to...more
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
On June 27, 2024, the California First District Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of a writ petition challenging the City of Lafayette’s (City) determination that a 12-unit residential condominium building qualified for the...more
In an order filed Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle denied a private property owner’s effort to enjoin the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers from enforcing their September 2023...more
On May 23, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a published opinion in Natural Resources Defense Council et al. v. Debra Haaland et al. (Case No. 21-15163) (“NRDC v. Haaland”) rejecting the plaintiffs’ challenges...more
On March 5, 2024, six conservation groups filed a petition with the California Fish and Game Commission (the Commission) to request the implementation of legal protections for five populations of the western burrowing owl...more
Various state housing bills are currently making their way through the State Legislature that are expected to benefit mixed-income multifamily housing developers. The following summaries reflect the status of the legislation...more
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
On March 5, 2024, the Center for Biological Diversity and several other groups submitted a petition to the California Fish and Game Commission (the Commission) to list the western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea)...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a rule that will provide the agency, its partners, and the public with a dataset of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured and used in the...more
The Biden administration is restoring significant state and tribal authority over water resources and expanding their leverage on infrastructure permitting decisions, including for pipelines. With a final rule announced this...more
On July 10, Governor Newsom signed five California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reform bills (SB 145, 146, 147, 149 & 150) as part of an infrastructure streamlining plan that the Governor’s office has called the “the...more
In the nation’s first appellate case on the issue, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that the City and County of San Francisco (City) must meet limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for...more
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association said on Thursday that they had reached an agreement, referred to as the "Clean Truck Partnership," that gives new flexibility for...more
Governor Gavin Newsom announced proposed major new infrastructure permitting reforms on May 19, 2023 in an effort to create thousands of jobs and build California’s clean energy future. The eleven-bill package seeks to...more
Recently, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a concerned citizen against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and National Marine Fisheries...more
Reversing the district court, a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit held that that the Bureau of Reclamation and a local water agency have discretion to release water from Twitchell Dam on the Santa Maria River on the Central...more
In June, I and many others took note of an opinion issued by the California Court of Appeal that concluded a bumble bee could be designated as a fish as defined by Section 45 of the California Fish & Game Code. Almond All. of...more