By Kerry Shapiro and Daniel Quinley On May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, narrowing the scope of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The court held that the EPA’s authority under the…
By Kerry Shapiro and Daniel Quinley On March 9, 2023, the US District Court for the Eastern District of California issued its ruling in Friends of the Inyo, et al., v. U.S. Forest Service, et al., in favor of the Forest Service and JMBM client KORE Mining Limited, in a…
By Kerry Shapiro and Daniel Quinley The last month has seen a flurry of activity related to the California and Federal Endangered Species Acts, including: The California Supreme Court’s denial of review in the Almond Alliance of California v. California Fish and Game Commission litigation Governor Gavin Newsom’s appointment of…
By Kerry Shapiro and Dan Quinley After more than a year of scientific study on the status of the western Joshua tree (“WJT”), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (“CDFW”) has just completed its status review (“Status Review”) of the WJT and determined that the best available science on…
By Kerry Shapiro On August 30, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona issued an order in Pasqua Yaqui Tribe, et al. v. U.S. EPA, et al., vacating the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (“NWPR”) and remanding the rule back to the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and U.S.…
By Kerry Shapiro and Dan Quinley On September 9, 2021, the House Environmental and Natural Resources (“ENR”) Committee finished its mark-up of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation budget measure. Inserted at the very end of the 117-page mark-up is Section 70807: Hardrock Mining, which is a quiet attempt to reform the…
By Kerry Shapiro Last week, the California Supreme Court handed down an important decision on prevailing wage law favorable to industry. On August 16, 2021, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Mendoza v. Fonseca McElroy Grinding Co., Inc. S253574, answering the question whether prevailing wage must be paid…
State Water Board Announces Intent to Enforce 2019 Procedures for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Material as “State Policy” By Kerry Shapiro, Martin Stratte, and Daniel Quinley On February 3, 2021, the State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) issued a “Notice of Opportunity to Comment and Notice of Public Hearing…
By Kerry Shapiro and Martin Stratte On January 20, 2021, President Biden’s first day in office, Acting Secretary of the Interior Scott de la Vega issued Secretarial Order No. 3395 (Order), which temporarily suspends decision-making authority delegated to Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureaus and Offices, such as the Bureau…
By Kerry Shapiro, Martin Stratte and Daniel Quinley On December 18, 2020, the Sacramento County Superior Court prohibited the State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) from implementing California’s new wetlands and “waters of the state” protection program, and limited SWRCB’s application of the regulatory program to only waters already protected…