Navigating Environmental Restrictions on Alternative Project Delivery for Complex Infrastructure Projects
On-Demand Webinar | The New NEPA Regulations: A Practical Guide to What You Need to Know
Hot Topics for Waste-to-Energy Investors and Developers
Dive into the fundamentals of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in our engaging session tailored for professionals in the clean energy sector. By the end of our...more
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a pair of decisions in EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining and Oklahoma v. EPA on June 18, 2025, resolving two related circuit splits regarding proper venue for challenging certain U.S....more
In a much-anticipated decision, the U.S. Supreme Court made a major “course correction” to the law governing federal environmental reviews and permitting decisions for infrastructure and other projects under the National...more
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of an alliance of local counties that support a planned 88-mile railroad project in Utah, concluding that the federal environmental review process did not have to consider...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued one decision today: Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, No. 23-975: This case concerns the scope of federal court review over an agency’s...more
A California court of appeal has held that a lead agency conducting environmental review, under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), of “vehicle miles traveled” (VMT) impacts may not unquestioningly use thresholds...more
Federal agencies are now responsible for their own National Environmental Policy Act procedures, creating uncertainty and opportunity for federal environmental reviews....more
A change from heavy regulation of vineyards to a complete ban on new vineyards did not so destabilize the original project description as to amount to a prejudicial abuse of discretion and require a new EIR. Gooden v. County...more
Last week’s unexpected opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (“DC Circuit”) holding that the Council for Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) lacks authority to promulgate regulations implementing the National...more
The Ninth Circuit held that statutory language defining the scope of operations of Twitchell Dam was sufficiently broad to potentially include releases of water to facilitate migration of Southern California Steelhead to the...more
On April 20, 2022, the Third District Court of Appeal filed its opinion in We Advocate Through Environmental Review v. County of Siskiyou (2022) 78 Cal.App.5th 683, reversing the trial court’s judgment upholding the County’s...more
On May 11, 2022, the Third District Court of Appeal published its opinion in We Advocate Through Environmental Review v. City of Mount Shasta (2022) 78 Cal.App.5th 629, reversing the decision below and ordering the trial...more
CEQA Case Report: Understanding the Judicial Landscape for Development - Public agencies prevailed in 71% of CEQA cases analyzed. Latham & Watkins is pleased to present its fifth annual CEQA Case Report. Throughout...more
The EIR for a bottling plant in Siskiyou County withstood challenges to the project description and impacts analysis, but the EIR’s stated project objectives were unreasonably narrow and the County should have recirculated...more
The City of San Diego’s approval of underground utility lines was incomplete because its Climate Action Plan checklist improperly allowed certain non-occupancy projects to avoid greenhouse gas emission (GHG) consistency...more
A California Court of Appeal held that special legislation providing fast-track judicial review to the Howard Terminal Project did not impose a deadline for the Governor to certify the project for streamlined environmental...more
In September 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality enacted new regulations that set forth procedures federal agencies are to utilize when implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Numerous commentaries...more
Bricker attorneys Frank Merrill and Christine Rideout Schirra will be presenting 'Environmental Permitting Appeals and Pipeline Construction: Are the circuit courts the new environmental review courts?' for the Institute of...more
In SEQRA litigation, there is an oft-quoted proposition that the Lead Agency may not abdicate or defer its responsibilities under SEQRA to another agency. See Riverkeeper, Inc. v. Planning Bd. of Town of Se., 9 N.Y.3d 219,...more
Northeast Could be Second U.S. Petrochemical Hub - "'While the region with its ample and reliable supply of ethane is primed for the emergence as a second major petrochemical manufacturing hub in the United States, it...more
On May 4, 2016, the California Supreme Court heard oral argument in Friends of the College of San Mateo Gardens v. San Mateo County Community College District (Case No. S214061), which addresses the standard of review that...more