» Land Use

Stranded in Level 1 or Level 2? The 2020 IGP Amendments Allow an Escape

Posted By:
Sean K. Hungerford Tiffany Michou
April 2020 Operators under California’s Industrial General Permit (IGP) are familiar with the challenge of maintaining “baseline” status under the IGP. This is especially true for mines and construction material producers, whose facilities are… Read More
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Categories: Articles, Environmental, Land Use, Mitigation, Water
Tags: baseline, BMP, construction, IGP, Industrial General Permit, NAL, Stormwater

March 31 Bay Area Shelter-In-Place Order - Impact On Construction Materials Operations

Posted By:
Bradley B. Johnson
April 1, 2020 Yesterday, March 31, six Bay Area counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, San Francisco [County/City], and San Mateo) and one city (Berkeley) issued an updated shelter-in-place order. THE ORDER IS IDENTICAL FOR EACH COUNTY/… Read More
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Categories: Construction, COVID-19, Environmental, Land Use, Mining, SMARA, Transportation
Tags: coronavirus, COVID-19, Critical Infrastructure, Essential Businesses, Executive Order, Shelter in Place

New CEQA Transportation Analysis Guidelines: A Fundamental Change

Posted By:
David P. Temblador
March 2020 On July 1, 2020, new guidelines will go into effect marking a fundamental shift in how transportation impacts are analyzed under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). The new guidelines, adopted at 14 CCR § 15063.4, will… Read More
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Categories: Articles, CEQA, Environmental, Land Use, Transportation
Tags: CEQA, OPR, transportation

State Auditor Finds That California Department of Fish & Widlife Failed to Comply With its Obligations Under CEQA

Posted By:
David P. Temblador
June 2019 On June 27, 2019, the State Auditor affirmed that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (“DFW”) “is not fulfilling its responsibilities under the California Environmental Quality Act [(“CEQA”)].” In response to a Joint… Read More
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Categories: CDFW, CEQA, Climate, Department of Fish & Wildlife, Environmental, Land Use, Mitigation, Water
Tags: California Department of Fish & Wildlife, CDFW, CEQA, EIR, environmental review, negative declaration, state audit

US EPA Clean Water Act Guidance: Discharges To Groundwater That Affect Surface Water Are Excluded From NPDES Program

Posted By:
Sean K. Hungerford
On April 12, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a guidance memorandum stating that point source discharges to groundwater, which subsequently migrate or are conveyed to surface water, are excluded from the Clean Water Act’s NPDES… Read More
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Categories: Articles, Climate, Environmental, Land Use, Water
Tags: Clean Water Act, CWA, EPA, groundwater discharge, Memorandum, NPDES, Supreme Court

Georgetown Preservation Society v. County of El Dorado - Despite Compliance with Local Design Standards Lay Opinion on Aesthetics Can Support a CEQA "Fair Argument"

Posted By:
Sean K. Hungerford James I. Anderson
A recent opinion by California’s Third Appellate District holds that even if a project conforms to county historic design guidelines, lay opinions relating to the aesthetics may support a fair argument of substantial impacts on the environment. Read More
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Categories: CEQA, Environmental, Land Use
Tags: aesthetics, CEQA, design standards, El Dorado, fair argument, Georgetown Preservation Society, historic, Third Appellate

Ninth Circuit Holds That Environmental Restrictions Which Ban Specific Mining Methods are not Preempted by Federal Law

Posted By:
Sean K. Hungerford
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that an Oregon state law which prohibited certain in-stream mining methods was a reasonable environmental regulation and thus was not preempted by federal law. Read More
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Categories: Environmental, Land Use, Mining
Tags: dredge, granite rock, lawrence county, mining, motorized in stream placer mining, ninth circuit, preempted, preemption, Supreme Court

Protect Niles v. City of Fremont - Personal Observations May Support a CEQA "Fair Argument"

Posted By:
Sean K. Hungerford James I. Anderson
August 2018 A recent unpublished opinion by California’s First Appellate District highlights the risk that CEQA lead agencies face when they approve projects with potential visual or traffic impacts based on a negative declaration. In Protect Niles… Read More
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Categories: Articles, CEQA, Environmental, Land Use, Mitigation
Tags: aesthetics, CEQA, development proposal, EIR, fair argument, lead agency, negative declaration, substantial evidence, traffic impacts

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Violates NEPA by Allowing Licensing Decisions to Stand While NEPA Defects Are Corrected

Posted By:
Sean K. Hungerford
July 2018 Oglala Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 20215 The District of Columbia Circuit recently held that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s practice of leaving licensing decisions in effect while under… Read More
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Categories: Articles, Land Use, NEPA
Tags: EIS, Environmental Impact Statement, environmental review, land use, NEPA, Nuclear Regulatory Commission

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service Propose Revisions to Endangered Species Act Regulations

Posted By:
Adam K. Guernsey
July 2018 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (together “Agencies”) have jointly proposed revisions to regulations that implement por… Read More
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Categories: Articles, Environmental, Land Use, Mining, Mitigation, NEPA, SMARA
Tags: Consultation, endangered species act, environmental regulations, National Marine Fisheries Service, Section 4, Section 7, US Fish & Wildlife Service
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