Newsletter Articles

Ninth Circuit Chides Agencies for Using Consent Decree to Circumvent Rulemaking

May 23, 2013

A recent Ninth Circuit decision calls into question the government’s practice of using consent decrees in a judicial proceeding to set policy for parties nationwide in environmental matters. In Conservation Northwest v. Sherman (Conservation Northwest II), No. 11-35729, 2013 WL 1760807 (9th Cir. Apr. More »

Stricter Water Quality Standards for Temperature May Be Coming to Oregon

May 23, 2013

After rejecting revisions to Oregon’s water quality standards last year, a federal court has now approved two related settlements reached among EPA, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), and an environmental group that effectively amend the existing standards. More »

Proposition 65 – Will California’s Toxics Warning Law Finally Be Reined in?

May 16, 2013

Over 25 years ago, voters in the State of California approved a relatively obscure ballot initiative known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, commonly known as “Proposition 65.”[1] At the time, both advocates and opponents of the initiative described it primarily as an environmental protection law, aimed at preventing the discharge More »

Private California Enforcement Groups Target Flame Retardants in Furniture, Mattresses, and Related Products

May 16, 2013

In the last several months, private enforcement groups have sent a number of notices alleging violation of Proposition 65 in connection with a range of furniture and other products incorporating foam cushioning materials.[1] The notices specifically allege that use of these products will result in exposures to certain chemical flame retardants (Tris (1,3 More »

AB 32: New Challenge Targets California Cap-and-Trade Law

May 6, 2013

The California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) has again been sued over its implementation of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (also known as AB 32). The lawsuit, Morning Star Packing Co. et al. v. More »

NEPA: California Federal Court Requires Full Environmental Impact Statement for BLM Leases Involving Hydraulic Fracturing

May 6, 2013

In the first federal court decision to directly examine an agency’s review of the potential environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing, a federal magistrate judge[1] in the Northern District of California ruled that the U.S. More »

Water Resources - Not Just Water Quality – Gains Attention of Opponents to Hydraulic Fracturing

April 22, 2013

This article was originally published in The Water Report, the monthly newsletter for water lawyers, and anyone interested in water law, water rights, and water quality in the western United States. Special thanks to David Light for permission to republish. More »

NEPA: Supreme Court to Review Whether Programmatic Land Management Decisions Are Subject to Judicial Review

April 22, 2013

The Supreme Court’s decision on March 18 to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Pacific Rivers Council v. U.S. More »

In Second Obama Term, Expect Significant Changes to Energy and Environmental Law

November 14, 2012

The Obama Administration is expected to advance major changes to energy and environmental laws in the next four years. There is already a backlog of pending legislation and proposed regulation to work through, and both environmental and industry groups will press for major reforms. More »

EPA Expected to Issue Series of New and Revised Air Rules Before Year-End

November 19, 2012

Now that the election is over, EPA is expected to begin moving forward a crowded air docket, including greenhouse gas standards for utilities and refineries, updates to ambient air quality standards for particulate matter and ozone, and several rules that are being rewritten in response to legal challenges. More »

Ninth Circuit Invalidates Biological Opinion on Ruby Pipeline

November 27, 2012

Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit invalidated ESA-related approvals for the western interstate Ruby Pipeline Project (Project). Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Bureau of Land Mgmt., 698 F.3d 1101 (9th Cir. 2012) (Ruby Pipeline Opinion). The Court found that, during ESA consultation, the U.S. More »

Energy Policy in the Second Obama Administration

November 27, 2012

President Obama has described his administration’s energy policy as “all of the above.” His opponents have called it “picking winners and losers.” In practice, it has been driven by two significant changes in the nation’s energy landscape: a boom in private domestic oil and natural gas production, and concerted federal promotion of renewable energy development. More »

Hydraulic Fracturing: Legislative and Regulatory Trends

October 4, 2011

Hydraulic fracturing (commonly called “fracking”) is a method for increasing output at oil and natural gas wells by breaking open gas-bearing rock formations using high-pressure fluid injection. More »

Prospects for Hazardous Waste and Chemicals Regulation During the Obama Administration’s Second Term

December 3, 2012

Compared with some other items on the Obama Administration’s second term agenda, hazardous waste and chemicals regulation is not as likely to be seen as an area of significant change. That’s a mistake. A number of issues are percolating at or just below the surface of the Administration’s regulatory priorities in this area that may bring significant change over the next four years. More »

Hydraulic Fracturing in California: Oil Boom on the Horizon; Groups Seek Statewide Injunction Pending Review; State Considering Regulation

November 19, 2012

California has not been a battleground state in the debate over hydraulic fracturing. More »

Natural Resource Decisions Will Bring Continued Controversy in Second Obama Term

December 21, 2012

Natural resource decisions made in President Obama’s first term included plenty of controversy: the ESA listing of the polar bear, along with listing and delisting of other high profile species; passage of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act; restoration of ESA consultation regulations that the second Bush Administration had altered; prioritization of domestic renewable energy projects; and More »

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