California Mining Update AB 1142 and SB 209: What lead agencies need to know about SMARA Modernization Changes will be effective January 1, 2017 by Kerry Shapiro On April 18, 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law two bills that together provide the most significant update to the California…
On September 25, 2014, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 52 (“AB 52”), which modifies the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) to add new protections for Native American cultural resources and enhances the role of Native American tribes in the environmental review process. AB 52 is a significant amendment to CEQA…
by Kerry Shapiro, Esq. The recent submittal of significant proposed revisions to California’s mining law, the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (“SMARA”), signals potentially broad-reaching changes to the statute. On February 21, 2014, Senator Fran Pavely (D) introduced SB 1270, a bill proposing to overhaul various sections of SMARA. SB…