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 Welcome to Argentco.com - your authoritative source for environmental, land use and water law, regulation and policy. Our publications are written and analyzed by top practitioners in their fields, and are designed to provide thorough and timely information that is distilled for quick understanding.Use this site to identify key actions in your area of practice or interest. You can search or browse the Argentco.com Archives by Court, Location or Subject. Paid subscribers have access to full-text articles from the Argentco.com Archive. And both visitors and paid subscribers can register for our free E-mail Alert service which can be customized to cover specific subjects of interest. Our Directory will help you locate attorneys, consultants, associations and governmental agencies dealing with your area of concern.
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The Latest from Argentco.com
October 2008
Twenty-five Years Later, What if the Public Trust Requires that We Kill Fish?
The Public Trust Doctrine is an ancient legal concept having its origins in Roman law. The doctrine acts as a restraint on the sovereign's ability to alienate public trust resources. Despite its ancient origins, the first application of this doctrine in the field of water rights, in California at least, was 25 years ago in the National Audubon case. Nat'l Audubon Soc'y v. Superior Court, 33 Cal.3d 419, 437 (Cal. 1983) cert. denied, 464 U.S. 977 (1983). In the short time since then, the doctrine has become ubiquitous within regulatory agency processes; however, the precise contours of its application have remained uncertain and have spawned voluminous commentary....
October 2008
The Bush Administration's Proposed Endangered Species Act Rule Changes: A 'Narrow' Fix or a 'Threat to Planet Earth'?
In 2006, Congressional Republicans unsuccessfully pushed for a legislative overhaul of the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). With the new Democratic majority in Congress, and the defeat of former Congressman Richard Pombo (R-CA), a strong advocate of changes to the ESA, ESA reform appeared to be dead on arrival....
October 2008
EPA Exercises Veto Authority under the Clean Water Act: Kills Controversial 'Yazoo Pumps Project' in the Mississippi Delta
On September 2, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final decision under the Clean Water Act to prohibit the construction of the Yazoo Pumps Project, a flood control project proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) intended to address flooding concerns in the Yazoo River Backwater Area of the southern Mississippi Delta. It appears that this veto, which is just the 12th in the agency's history and the first since 1990, may effectively end what has been one of the most controversial water resources projects in the nation....
October 2008
Recent Investigations, Settlements, Penalties and Sanctions
Editor's Notice: Complaints and indictments discussed below are merely allegations unless they are proven in a court of law of competent jurisdiction. All accused are presumed innocent until convicted or judged liable. Most settlements are subject to a 30-day public comment period....
October 2008
Third Circuit Affirms Order Finding CERCLA Defendant Liable for Monetary Judgment Based on Future Cleanup Costs
Defendant Simon Wrecking Company, Inc. (Simon) appealed the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania's order finding Simon liable as a transporter of hazardous wastes under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Liability and Compensation Act (CERLCA) and awarding a monetary judgment to plaintiffs Action Manufacturing Co., Inc. et al. (appellees) in appellees' contribution action against Simon. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court's order....
October 2008
Environmentalists Sue EPA to Force Development of Numeric Nutrient Criteria for Florida Waters
On July 17, 2008, a group of environmental organizations including The Florida Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club, and the St. Johns Riverkeeper filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for allegedly failing to comply with a mandatory duty under the Clean Water Act to set numeric nutrient criteria for the State of Florida....
October 2008
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Affirms Judgment Finding PRP Did Not Assume Duty to Neighboring Landowner Simply by Cleaning Up Site
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirmed the state Circuit Court's summary judgment dismissing a group of defendants, including Blackhawk Leather, LLC (Generators). The Circuit Court previously dismissed the Generators because plaintiffs Dyer, et al. (plaintiffs) did not produce any evidence linking the Generators' actions the vinyl chloride in plaintiffs' water and failed to present any evidence that would create a genuine issue of material fact....
October 2008
State Board Freezes Enrollment in Statewide General Storm Water NPDES Permits for Construction and Industrial Projects Following Writ in City of Arcadia Case
On July 2, 2008, the Orange County Superior Court issued a writ of mandate in City of Arcadia v. State Water Resources Control Board, Case No. 06CC02974 (July 2, 2008 Orange County. Super. Ct.), invalidating the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board's (Los Angeles Board) 2004 review of the Los Angeles Basin Plan, and requiring the Los Angeles Board and State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) to review and revise all storm water quality standards in the Los Angeles Basin Plan. During this review process, the court ordered the State Board to:...
October 2008
Delta Landowners File Suit against DWR to Determine Who Has the Duty to Clear Sedimentation from North Delta Channels
Private landowners and a Reclamation District in San Joaquin County have filed suit earlier this year against the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), the State Lands Commission and the Central Valley Flood Prevention Board (formerly known as Reclamation Board, referred to herein as the CVFPB) (collectively: defendants) asking a San Joaquin County Superior Court to declare that defendants have a duty to clear sedimentation from North Delta channels....
October 2008
Building a Reservoir to Conserve Water Lost to Mexico
Drought in the Colorado River Basin this decade has dropped some Southwest reservoirs to their lowest levels in 40 years. Although the June 2008 snow pack run-offs were above normal, Lake Mead and Lake Powel, two of the four major reservoirs along the lower Colorado River, continue to be 54 and 37 percent below capacity, respectively. To conserve Colorado River water currently being "lost" to Mexico and thereby decrease releases from Lake Mead, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) has recently awarded a $98.3 million contract to build a reservoir and water delivery project in Imperial County, California, called the "Drop 2" Storage Reservoir and Canal Project....
October 2008
California Supreme Court Provides Significant New Guidance Regarding Adequacy of Local Benefit Assessments
On July 14, 2008, the California Supreme Court held that courts should not presume a local agency has done an adequate job of calculating its benefit assessments. Because the standard for benefit assessments is fixed by Proposition 218 (part of the California Constitution), courts must exercise independent judgment when determining whether assessments pass legal muster. The case also helps distinguish special from general benefits, and emphasizes that assessments must be proportional to the benefits provided by the public works or property-related services they fund....
October 2008
California Supreme Court Finds Incidental Take Permit with an Overly Broad 'No Surprise' Clause An Abuse of Discretion
In July the California Supreme Court held that, in issuing regulatory approvals to Pacific Lumber for continued logging activities, the California Department of Forestry had not properly approved an identifiable sustained yield plan and had not adequately analyzed the impacts of Pacific Lumber's activities at the individual planning watershed level. The Court also found that the incidental take permit issued by the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) was deficient because of the inclusion of an overly broad "no surprise" clause, which limited in advance Pacific Lumber's obligation to mitigate the impact of its logging operation. The Court ruled this to be inconsistent with the duty to fully mitigate impacts of incidental take....
October 2008
Oregon Water Quality Trading: A Marketplace for Healthier Waters
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has issued proposed well rules that will crackdown on the illegal use of Colorado River water from individual well owners long the lower Colorado....
October 2008
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Addresses Critical Habitat Issues for Bay Checkerspot Butterfly and Peninsular Bighorn Sheep
Checkerspot Butterfly On August 26, 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published its final rule designating revised critical habitat for the Bay checkerspot butterfly. The revised designation include approximately 18,293 acres within San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, California. The final revised designation constitutes a reduction of 1,453 acres from the FWS' proposed revised designation of critical habitat for the Bay checkerspot butterfly published on August 22, 2007....
October 2008
Land use legislation
The section is designed to apprise our readers of potentially important land use legislation. When a significant bill is introduced, we will provide a short description. Updates will follow, and if enacted, we will provide additional coverage....
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