California Supreme Court Finds City Mobile Home Rent Control Ordinance Not Preempted by State Mobilehome Residency Law February 2007

Fourth District Court Finds Local Ordinance Permitting Pass-Through Property Tax Charges to Residents Preempted by State Law May 2005

Ninth Circuit Affirms that the United States is Liable for Wartime Pollution in California October 2002

District Court Finds Supreme Court’s Cooper Decision Bars CERCLA Cost Recovery Claims by One Private Party against Another September 2005

Coastal City Properly Relied on Emergency Exemption to CEQA in the Construction of a Seawall January 2003

The Seaside Basin Case: Adjudication Grows Up April 2006

Monterey County Superior Court Imposes Pumping Restrictions in the Seaside Basin March 2006

Coastkeeper Suit Claims Department of Fish and Game Lags in Recommending Protective Instream Flows December 2007

Second District Dismisses Constitutional Challenge to AB 687—Underlying Casino Contracts Are Subject to Validation Statutes March 2007

California Supreme Court Rules Director of Department of Conservation Has Standing to File Petition for Writ of Mandate under SMARA October 2005

Director of the California Department of Conservation Lacked Standing to Petition for Writ of Mandate against Lead Agency July 2003

Ninth Circuit Finds Intervention Untimely in Landfill Contamination Case January 2003

Ninth Circuit Holds Sellers of Lead Containing Materials to Processing Plant Operator Are ‘Arrangers’ under CERCLA January 2008

District Court Holds that Liability Insurer Does Not Qualify as an Innocent Party under CERCLA February 2004

Department of Water Resources Sues Delta Landowners in Five Counties for Entry to Conduct Isolated Facility Investigation July 2009

Third District Court Decides State Lands Commission’s Finding that Project “Enhanced The Configuration of the Shoreline” Not Supported by Substantial Evidence June 2005

Federal Courts Accept Settlement Agreements in Delta Smelt Lawsuits August/September 2003

Third District Court Rules that State Board Regulatory Fees for Water Rights Permits Are Unconstitutional March 2007

State Water Board Issues New Water Right Fees Payment Notices to Farmers January 2008

California Water Rights Fees: Petitions for Review Granted by the California Supreme Court June 2007

Back to the Drawing Board: By Court Order, the State Water Resources Control Board Must Revise Its Invalid Water Right Fees May 2007

The California State Water Resources Control Board’s Funding Dilemma— Court of Appeal Overturns the Board’s Water Right Fee Regulations March 2007

Third District Finds Purchase and Conversion of Land for Conservation Easement Not Categorically Exempt from CEQA Despite Its Environmentally Beneficial Purpose November 2006

CALFED and the California Farm Bureau Settle Lawsuit over Environmental Review of the Environmental Water Account October 2005

Irrigation Pumps to Submit to Stricter Air Pollution Regulations under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Settlement with Environmental Groups November 2003

Third District Court Upholds California Fish and Game Commission’s Coho Listings as Threatened and Endangered February 2008

Third District Court Upholds California Fish and Game Commission’s Coho Listings as Threatened and Endangered January 2008

Fifth District Opines that Public Agencies Must Obtain C-57 Water Well Contractor’s Licenses January 2010

News from the West July 2009

Third District Rules City Violated General Plan Policy Requiring ‘Coordination’ with Agencies Regarding Mitigating Impacts to Wetlands and Species May 2009

Sixth District Upholds CEQA Alternatives Analysis Based on a Finding of Infeasibility Due to Policy Considerations November 2009

Santa Cruz Superior Court Upholds Arana Gulch Master Plan EIR Adopted by City of Santa Cruz March 2008

Third District Rules Local Agency May Not Rely Solely on Fee Program Not Evaluated under CEQA to Issue a Mitigated Negative Declaration and to Approve Project April 2009

First District Protects Vacant Church from Designation as a Landmark Pursuant to the San Francisco Municipal Planning Code July 2009

Groups File CEQA Challenges to U.C. Campus Expansion Plans—Win Preliminary Injunction May 2007

Second District Decertifies Environmental Impact Report Based upon Inadequate Water Supply Analysis December 2005

Third District Finds Lead Agency Disclosure of Privileged Documents to Real Parties in Interest Not a Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege August 2009

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California Sportfishing Alliance Files Clean Water Act Suit against City of Stockton Regarding Wastewater Treatment and Collection November 2008

Environmental Groups Sue Central Valley Regional Board Water Quality Control Board over Waivers for Agricultural Discharges August 2007

Endangered Species Act Suit Challenges FERC Operation of Hydropower Project on Feather River System July 2005

Sixth District Holds City of Palo Alto Liable under Inverse Condemnation When Its Sewer Pipe Caused Sewage Backup in Residence June 2006

U.S. District Court for District of Oregon Rules Coho Salmon Have Been Illegally Listed April 2005

Fourth District Finds Venue Provision Challenging Acts of Public Officials Includes Suits Seeking to Vindicate Public Rights July 2007

Third District Court Holds Private Attorney General Fees Are Available to Private Parties even When Public Entities Achieved Substantially Similar Result in Litigation May 2008

The Robie Decision and the Future of California Water Law May 2006

Third District Court of Appeal Rules on the Validity of SWRCB’s Decision D-1641 April 2006

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Ninth Circuit Upholds FERC Issuance of Annual License Absent State Water Quality Certification February 2003

Fourth District Finds Local Agency Failed to Demonstrate Application of ‘Class 8’ CEQA Exemption to Passage of Air Pollution Offset Rule January 2010

Ninth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment for Landowner in Cost Recovery Case Based on Doubtful Circumstantial Evidence April 2003

Ninth Circuit Holds that Cost Recovery under CERCLA Begins to Run with Adoption of Final Remedial Action Plan April 2004

California Court Rules to Protect Cleanup Judgment Debtor from Having to Assume Responsibilities of Others Who Attempt to Settle Out March 2005

California Files CEQA Suit against San Bernardino County for Failing to Evaluate Global Warming Impacts June 2007

The Stringfellow Superfund Site: Millions More Are Put towards Groundwater and Soil Cleanup July 2005

Superior Court Denies Challenge to EIR for Water Acquisition from Kern County Water Banking and Recovery Program January 2008

Los Angeles Superior Court Upholds Santa Clarita Urban Water Management Plan October 2007

Environmental Group Allege ‘Paper Water’ In Challenging Water Supply Acquisition by Castaic Lake Water Agency February 2007

Environmental Groups Challenge Validity of Santa Clarita Valley Urban Water Management Plan May 2006

Environmental Groups File Petitions to Prevent Transfers of Water to Castaic Lake Water Agency May 2005

Second Appellate District Finds Water Supply Assessments Not Actionable until Completion of Environmental Review Process May 2008

Environmental Groups’ Suit for Public Trust Violations in the Delta Is the Basis for the Latest Challenge to Federal and State Pumping January 2009

Court Uphold’s Castaic Lake Water Agency’s Groundwater Banking Plan May 2006

City of Bakersfield and California Water Service Company File Suit over TCP in City Drinking Water Wells May 2008

First District Finds State Agency Must Conduct CEQA Review of Use of Pesticide Products in Winegrap Disease Control Program March 2006

Environmental Groups File Suit in Federal and State Courts in California to Block Poisoning Paiute Cutthroat Trout in Sierra Nevada Streams October 2005

Environmental Groups File Suit in Federal and State Courts in California to Block Poisoning Paiute Cutthroat Trout in Sierra Nevada Streams October 2005

Third District Finds Compliance with California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s Regulatory Program Constitutes Equivalent CEQA Compliance April 2006

California Appellate Court Invalidates Regional Air Quality District’s Rule Allowing Air Pollution Offset Credits December 2009

Third District Court Finds County’s Determination of Vested Rights under SMARA Requires Notice and Public Hearing March 2007

Buddhists Must Contemplate Failure to Obtain Zoning Variance to Build Monastery on Connecticut Land Containing Wetlands March 2008

Connecticut State Appellate Court Holds Littoral Property Rights Were Lost Due to 21-Year Delay March 2009

Tenth Circuit Holds CERCLA’s Jurisdictional Bar for Ongoing Removal Actions Prohibits Injunctive Relief under the SWDA November 2008

Tenth Circuit Holds Statute of Limitations Bars Claim against Government for Pollution Resulting from World War II Weapons Testing October 2003

Birdwatcher Group has Standing to Challenge the Adequacy of the Navys Environmental Impact Statement Under NEPA, but not Standing to Bring State Law Claims in Federal Court May 2001

Sixth Circuit Further Defines ‘Adjacent Wetland’ Jurisdiciton under the Clean Water Act January 2005

U.S. Supreme Court Decides Significant Wetlands Cases with Fractured Opinion August 2006

Supreme Court Fails to Fully Define the Scope of the Corps’ Jurisdiction to Regulate ‘Waters of The United States’—Justice Kennedy Issues the Controlling Opinion in Rapanos v. United States; Carabell v. United State August 2006

U.S. Supreme Court, In Plurality Opinion, Fails to Resolve Critical Issue of Jurisdiction under Clean Water Act, Instead Reaffirming Existing ‘Significant Nexus’ Standard August 2006

Remanded: U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Federal Jurisdiction over Wetlands with Nexus—But Leaves Questions Unanswered August 2006

Rapanos v. United States—Carabell v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: A Regulatory Scheme, a Splintered Decision and a Court in Flux August 2006

United States Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Reach of Feds over Wetlands—Carabell v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Rapanos v. United States April 2006

It All Depends on What the Definition of the Word ‘Tributary’ Is—Supreme Court Hears Major Environmental Cases April 2006

Welcome to the Supreme Court: Chief Justice Roberts Will Address the Scope of the Clean Water Act in Two Wetlands Cases January 2006

Wetlands, Commerce and Jurisdiction: The Clean Water Act before the Supreme Court December 2005

Welcome to the Supreme Court: Chief Justice Roberts Will Address the Scope of the Clean Water Act in Two Wetlands Cases November 2005

U.S. Supreme Court Rules that Interior Could Not Accept Parcel of Land in Trust for Use by Tribe Not Recognized when Indian Reorganization Act Was Enacted in 1934 May 2009

District Court Applies CERCLA Petroleum Exclusion in Denying Liability but Finds Exclusion Does Not Apply under State Law May 2007

District Court Dismisses Claims Regarding Contamination of Amazonian River Basin in Peru Due to Forum Non Conveniens June 2008

Fourth District Affirms that Private Recreational Common Area Does Not Convert to Public Accommodation Due to Consent to Public Use November 2009

North Carolina Court of Appeals Dismisses Declaratory Relief Action over Ownership of Underground Storage Tanks November 2001

Third District Court of Appeal Upholds California Air Resources Board’s Efforts to Reduce Burning of Rice Straw in the Sacramento Valley November 2003

Third District Court of Appeal Upholds California Air Resources Board’s Efforts to Reduce Burning of Rice Straw in the Sacramento Valley November 2003

Ninth Circuit Rules Mobile Home Park’s Regulatory Takings Claim Is Unripe Due to Failure to Exhaust State Court Remedies March 2004

Ninth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Denying Recovery of Cleanup Costs under CERCLA for Failure to Substantially Comply with the National Contingency Plan February 2006

Ninth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Denying Recovery of Cleanup Costs under CERCLA for Failure to Substantially Comply with the National Contingency Plan February 2006

Private Cercla Plaintiffs Must Demonstrate National Contingency Plan Consistency, Even For Smaller Site Cleanups November 2003

Nevada Court Overturns Approval for Southern Nevada Water Authority to Pump Groundwater from Three Rural Valleys January 2010

District of Columbia Circuit Rejects Challenge to Listing of Site on the National Priorities List March 2005

The Ninth Circuits Asserts Jurisdiction over U.S. Department of Labor’s Whistleblower Decision December 2003

Federal Circuit Rules Irrigation District’s Water Losses from ESA Stream-Flow Diversion Restrictions Are a Per Se Taking November 2008

Court of Federal Claims Rules Irrigation District’s Water Losses from ESA Stream-Flow Diversion Restrictions Must Be Evaluated as a ‘Taking’ May 2007

Federal Circuit Upholds Takings Claim of Casitas Municipal Water District— A New Turn in Regulatory Takings of Water Rights? October 2009

District Court Approves Relaxed Burden of Proof for CERCLA Plaintiffs September 2003

Whittaker Corporation Agrees to Pay over $500,000 to Treat Santa Clarita Well Contaminated with Perchlorate July 2005

California Court of Appeal Holds Evidence Sufficient to Support Judgment for Defendant in Underground Storage Tank Case November 2002

Fourth District Court Upholds Early Property Valuation in Quick Take Eminent Domain Proceedings Despite Substantial Increase in Property Value February 2006

Adrift in the Water: Key Provisions of the Water Quality Program Remain Untethered January 2008

Court of Appeals: Transport of Water through State Distribution System May Require NPDES Permit under the Clean Water Act December 2001

District Court Stays Challenge to EPA Regulation Excluding Water Transfers from CWA Permit Requirements Pending Decisions in Other Courts July 2009

Second Circuit Ruling that New York City Must Obtain an NPDES Permit when Transferring Water between Distinct Waterbodies Appears in Conflict with EPA’s Proposed Water Transfer Rule August 2006

Water Agencies Take Special Interest in Two East Coast Clean Water Act Cases Requiring NPDES Permits for Large Water Purveyors April 2003

Georgia Supreme Court Finds State Marshlands Act Does Not Repose Broad Authority in State Agency to Regulate Upland Coastal Development December 2008

Environmental Group Files CEQA Lawsuit Challenging LAFCO’s Elimination of Water Conservation District’s Sphere of Influence June 2006

Ninth Circuit Upholds U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Refusal to Designate Critical Habitat For Unarmored Threespine Stickleback August 2006

Ninth Circuit Court Finds that FWS Failed to Support Its Decision to Defer Listing of Sensitive Frog December 2006

News From The West: Ninth Circuit Addresses the Intersection of Water Law and the Endangered Species Act October 2006

Ninth Circuit Finds U.S. Forest Service Violated the National Environmental Policy Act by Not Disclosing Responsible Scientific Opposition in Final EIS for Forest Management Plan January 2004

First District Finds Claim by Public for Breach of Public Trust Must Be Brought against Public Agencies— Not against Windfarm Operators November 2008

Environmental Groups File Suits to Attack Timber Harvesting as a Source of Greenhouse Gas Emissions October 2009

Center for Biological Diversity Files CEQA Lawsuit Challenging Oceano Dunes Race Permit December 2007

Lawsuit Seeks Protection for American Pika under the California Endangered Species Act December 2009

Third District Court Lowers Standard to Obtain “Candidate” Species Status under State Endangered Species Act October 2008

Sacramento Superior Court Overturns Fish and Game Commission’s Denial to List California Tiger Salamander under California ESA March 2007

California Courts Continue to Focus on California Environmental Quality Act’s Requirements for Analysis of Project’s Contribution to Climate Change October 2008

First District Court Extends Application of Public Trust Doctrine to Wildlife, but Limits Suit to Government Agencies December 2008

Lawsuits Challenge New ESA Section 7 Consultation Requirements March 2009

Petition Filed Seeking Court Order Requiring Numerous Federal Agencies’ Response to a Request for Rulemaking to Address the Impacts of Global Warming on Imperiled Species March 2009

Ninth Circuit Issues Amended Opinion Holding that Award of Attorneys’ Fees under the Endangered Species Act Was Proper June 2009

Development in Bald Eagle Habitat Permanently Enjoined; Developer Fined $1.3 Million under Clean Water Act October 2006

Quantification Agreement Challenged: Suit to Save Salton Sea Could Cause Water Shortages in Southland October 2002

Court of Appeals: Tenth Circuit Requires Additional Evidence Beyond a Chronology of Events to Satisfy the Catalyst Test For Attorney's Fees under the ESA. November 2001

Endangered Species Disputes over Texas Troglobites Spawn Lawsuit, Dissention January 2004

Environmental Organizations File Two Lawsuits to Force Greater Protection for Delta Smelt and Longfin Smelt January 2010

Ninth Circuit Reverses the Approval of a Land Exchange for Failure to Take a ‘Hard Look’ at Environmental Consequences November 2009

Federal Lawsuit Seeks Endangered Species Protection for Ashy Storm Petrel May 2009

District Court Rejects BLM’s Efforts to Open Algodones Sand Dunes in California to Off-Road Vehicles May 2006

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Settles Claims by Environmental Groups Regarding Impacts of Colorado River’s Glen Canyon Dam Operations on Native Fish Species October 2006

Coalition of Seven Environmental Groups Files Lawsuit against United States Challenging Forest Plans for Four Southern California Forests October 2008

Ocean Acidification Suit First Major Case to Bring Climate Claims under Clean Water Act July 2009

Ninth Circuit Holds that U.S. Forest Service Must Affirmatively “Consider” Impacts to Rivers Eligible for Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Inclusion August 2003

D.C. Circuit Court Rejects Portion of Haze Rule as Inconsistent with the Clean Air Act April 2005

Harvesting of Genetically Engineered Crops Does Not Moot Lawsuit to Determine Need for Environmental Assessments June 2005

D.C. District Court Orders Release of Documents Relating to the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement March 2003

District Court Denies Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act Challenges to U.S. Forest Service Grazing Permits March 2006

Second District Court of Appeal Upholds Denial of Motion to Equitably Apportion Unused Storage Capacity in Adjudicated Groundwater Basin August/September 2003

Metropolitan’s New Water Supply Allocation Plan Gets Challenged Immediately June 2008

Colorado Supreme Court Limits Water District’s Change Application, Using Consumptive Use Analysis, to Acreage Irrigated at Time of Original Appropriation January 2006

California Supreme Court Declines to Hear Delta Wetlands Case May 2005

Third District Court Rules State Water Resources Control Board Must Specify ‘Actual Use’ January 2005

Central Valley Project in Compliance with Salinity Standards: The Bureau of Reclamation May Deviate from Scientific Models When Statutory Violation Is Anticipated August 2006

Ninth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment In Favor of the Bureau of Reclamation in Its Execution of Plan under the Central Valley Project August 2006

Ninth Circuit Finds the Threat of Environmental Harm May Confer Standing if the Harm Is "Sufficiently Concrete" November 2002

Delta Water Agencies File Action Challenging Potential Delta Conveyance System June 2009

District Court Issues Decision Dismissing Central and South Delta Water Agencies’ Challenge to the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan November 2009

Delta Wetlands Project Prevails in Water Rights Litigation July 2002

District Court Declares California’s Automotive Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations Preempted by the Clean Air Act March 2007

District Court Denies California’s Motion to Dismiss Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulation Preemption Challenges, but Dismisses Dormant Commerce Clause and Sherman Act Claims November 2006

Groundwater Storage: Not as Easy as It Sounds March 2004

Central Basin Pumpers Appeal Decision Denying Their Motion for Groundwater Storage Rights March 2002

District Court Requires Specific Allegations Regarding Parent and Subsidiary Relationship to Maintain CERCLA §107 Action against Parent April 2009

First District Court Holds School District’s Preparation of EIR Did Not Constitute an Assumption of Responsibility for Student Safety June 2008

Ninth Circuit Rules Whales Do Not Have Standing to Sue under the Federal Endangered Species Act December 2004

District Court Holds Settlement with EPA for Sludge Contaminated Groundwater May Provide Basis for Contribution under CERCLA Section 113 June 2008

Sixth Circuit Holds that Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act Whistle-Blower Provisions Do Not Preempt Fired Employee from Seeking Additional Remedies under Federal and State Law June 2001

State Court Finds N.Y. DEC Has Jurisdiction to Issue Water Quality Permit Despite Preemption for Hydroelectric Dams Operated under FERC March 2009

Court of Appeals: Tenth Circuit Applies the "Wholly Past" Doctrine to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act May 2003

D.C. Circuit Rejects Chem-Nuclear's Request for Reimbursement of CERCLA Remediation Costs August 2002

Colorado Supreme Court Finds Stipulated Decree Provision Restricts Certain Water Exports from the Upper Black Squirrel Designated Ground Water Basin March 2007

Cherry Valley Residents Challenge Specific Plan EIR’s Water Supply Analysis May 2005

Virginia Court of Appeals finds Standing For Chesapeake Bay Foundation to Challenge Wetlands Permit Extension for King William Reservoir January 2009

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Sues U.S. EPA over Clean Water Act Alleged Violations in the Bay Recovery March 2009

Ninth Circuit Holds That a Statute Which Caps the Amount of Rent That Oil Companies May Charge Dealers Constitutes a Regulatory Taking under the Fifth Amendment. June 2004

First Circuit Court of Appeals Determines There Is No Entitlement to an Evidentiary Hearing when Issuing a Clean Water Act NPDES Permit May 2006

Massachusetts Court of Appeal, Applying Illinois Law, Requires Insurance Company to Indemnify Environmental Property Damage Occurring Outside the Policy Period December 2003

Center for Biological Diversity Hit with $600,000 Defamation Verdict in Arizona March 2005

Court, Water Producers Consider Plan to Solve Chino Basin Subsidence Problem August 2002

United States Supreme Court Upholds Rule that EPA Need Not Consider Costs when It Issues Air Quality Standards under the Clean Air Act April 2001

Fourth District Upholds Trial Court Order Denying Petition for Writ of Mandate to Compel City of Newport Beach to Grant a Variance April 2007

California: Cities Sue Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board Over Trash Total Maximum Daily Loads for Los Angeles River Watershed April 2001

Cities Sue Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board over Trash Total Maximum Daily Loads for Los Angeles River Watershed April 2001

Partial Success Means Partial Recovery: District Court Provides an Analytical Framework for Cost Recovery Claims June 2007

Seventh Circuit Holds U.S. EPA Administrator Reasonably Denied Petitions Objecting to CAA Title V Operation Permits October 2008

Late-Filed Challenge to Increased Water Service Connection Fee Dismissed April 2006

Sixth Circuit Remands EPA Regulation as an Unreasonable Interpretation of the Clean Water Act November 2002

Sixth Circuit Finds EPA Rules on Discharge of Effluent from Mines Violate Effluent Provisions of Clean Water Act January 2005

Seventh Circuit Holds that a Defendant Prevailing in a Nonfrivolous Right-to-Know Lawsuit Is Not Entitled to Attorneys' Fees January 2001

First District Affirms Ruling that Citizen Group Missed CEQA’s Statute of Limitations to Challenge Approval of Redevelopment Project August 2007

News from the West December 2009

California Department of Transportation’s Transfer of Land, which Only Partially Lies within the Coastal Zone, to the Department of Parks and Recreation Does Not Offend the California Constitution January 2004

Fourth District Court Upholds City’s Decision to Close Public Road on Grounds Road Was No Longer Necessary for Vehicular Traffic. July 2004

Court of Appeal: Vague and Overly-broad Initiative Restricting Planning Abilities of County Deemed Invalid by Court of Appeal March 2002

Second District Reaffirms Voter Adoption of Initiative Amending County’s General Plan to Permit Mixed Use Development Near an Airport October 2009

Fourth District Holds Project Specific EIR Not Required where Master EIR Provides Adequate Environmental Review of Project’s Impacts January 2006

Fourth District Court Holds Substantial Evidence Supported Fair Argument that Senior Housing Project May Have Significant Environmental Impact May 2008

First District Court Holds Deficiencies in Process Do Not Require Invalidation of LAFCO Annexation Proceeding March 2008

First District Underscores the Need to Evaluate Project Impacts on Wetlands, Riparian Habitats, and Other Resources under CEQA December 2009

First District Finds a Memorandum of Understanding between a City and an Indian Tribe Was Not a Project Requiring CEQA Review October 2005

First District Finds Property Owner Is Not Entitled to Attorney Fees where the Award Would Discourage Local Enforcement Agencies from Protecting the Public’s Interest April 2006

First District Affirms No Compensation for Goodwill when Undeveloped Parcel, Approved for Multi-Unit Mixed-Use, Is ‘Taken’ by Eminent Domain February 2009

First District Court Finds San Francisco’s Parking Tax Exemptions Favoring Designated Categories of Users Constitutional November 2004

Fifth Circuit Rejects Tenth Amendment Challenges to Clean Water Act. June 2003

Third District Voids Municipal Services Agreement for Proposed Casino Development for Failure to Treat Agreement as a ‘Project’ under CEQA June 2007

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Can Approve State Submitted TMDL after Already Adopting Federal TMDL August 2005

State Board Freezes Enrollment in Statewide General Storm Water NPDES Permits for Construction and Industrial Projects Following Writ in City of Arcadia Case October 2008

Court of Appeal Reviews Decision on Zero Trash TMDL for the Los Angeles River March 2006

Ninth Circuit Sets Aside City Ordinances Regulating Telecommunication Companies Finding Preemption under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 June 2001

Colorado Supreme Court Further Clarifies the ‘Can And Will’ Test for Conditional Water Rights October 2009

Colorado Supreme Court Revisits the Standards for Approval of Augmentation Plans and Clarifies When Attorneys Fees and Costs Are Available April 2005

News from the West December 2008

Non-Settling Parties Fail to Upset Consent Decree Regarding Penobscot River to Proof on Site August 2008

Federal Magistrate Concludes that City is a Potentially Responsible Party because of Its Role in Constructing and Operating a Sewer Drain System April 2004

Riverside County Superior Court Orders Rampdown to 70 Percent Production under Mojave River Adjudication. August/September 2003

Second District Holds Courts Have Statutory Discretion in Determining Remedy for Inadequate Alternatives Analysis in Documents Prepared as Substitute EIRs June 2009

Groups File CEQA Challenges to U.C. Campus Expansion Plans—Win Preliminary Injunction May 2007

Colorado Supreme Court Clarifies the “Can and Will” Test for Conditional Water Rights November 2004

First District Affirms Mandatory Minimum Penalty of $243,000 for Violations of Wastewater Discharge Permit by the City of Brentwood December 2004

California Supreme Court Rules that Regional Boards May Not Consider Economic Factors to Justify Imposing Pollutant Restrictions that Are Less Stringent than Federal Standards May 2005

California Court of Appeal Decides Regional Boards Need Not Consider Economic Burdens when Determining Permit Effluent Limitations November 2003

Diminution in Value of Improvements and Fixtures Not Compensable as Severance Damages in Roadway Condemnation Action August/September 2003

Second District Court Clarifies the Meaning of a “Big Box Retailer” under AB 178. February 2005

Supreme Court of Virginia Bars Toxic Water Claims under Sovereign Immunity Doctrine January 2005

Second District Affirms a City’s Authority to Enact a Moratorium on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries within City Limits November 2009

First District Finds in Eminent Domain, Owners of Residence Not Entitled to Temporary Severance Damages Where No Evidence of Actual Injury Is Presented May 2008

Motions for Summary Judgment Pending against Colorado State Engineer Seeking Determination of “Senior First Rule” and “Selective Subordination” Principles of Water Rights October 2004

Colorado Supreme Court upholds State and Division Engineers’ Curtailment of the City of Golden’s Municipal Direct Flow Rights During 2002 Drought April 2004

California Supreme Court Upholds Second District’s Reversal of Trial Court Order Requiring Newly Incorporated City to Approve Developer’s Final Map Application February 2007

Second District Court Finds Subdivision Map Act Permits City to Deny Development in Newly Incorporated City Where Vesting Tentative Map Submitted after Petition for Incorporation December 2004

Coastal Commission Lacks Administrative Appellate Jurisdiction to Revisit a Coastal Development Permit Approval Ordered by Superior Court in Writ Proceeding in which It Was a Party May 2003

A Culture of Unconstitutionality at the Coastal Commission May 2003

editSuperior Court Orders Elsinore Valley Water District to Release Water to Lake Elsinore for Recreational and Environmental Uses December 2001

Lawsuit Filed by City of Lake Elsinor to Compel Water District to Release of Water Supplies for Recreational Use October 2001

City of Lodi Reaches Settlement to Clean Up Polluted Groundwater December 2004

Court of Appeal Finds Lodi’s Municipal Environmental Ordinance Is Preempted by California Statute. July 2004

California Court of Appeal Finds State Statue Preempts Municipal  Authority Over Cleanup of State-Listed Sites June 2004

Second District Rules School District Complied with CEQA in Certifying an EIR for Construction of High School October 2009

Ninth Circuit Holds that Intrastate Plaintiffs Must Have ‘Prudential Standing’ to a Bring Claim under the Dormant Commerce Clause November 2009

District Court Rules that Complete Ban on Land Application of Biosolids Is Preemped by California Integrated Waste Management Act and Violates Dormant Commerce Clause October 2007

District Court Rules that Complete Ban on Land Application of Biosolids Likely Is Preempted by State Law, Violates Dormant Commerce Clause, and Exceeds County’s Police Powers January 2007

Having Transferred Water Service Fee Income to Its General Fund, Los Angeles Faces Imminent Prospect of Issuing $30 Million Refund June 2009

Los Angeles DWP Files Fraud and False Claims Action against Owens Valley Dust Mitigation Contractor August 2008

Second District Court Rejects Neighbors’ Request to Intervene in Action Brought by City of Malibu and David Geffen Regarding Site Specific Coastal Public Access June 2005

Second District Rejects Malibu’s Appeals to Escape from Coastal Commission’s Local Coastal Program Prepared Specifically for the City October 2004

Second District finds the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Is Not Immune from the City of Malibu's Land Use Regulations July 2002

When Worlds Collide—Who Mitigates the Off-Site Impacts of State Projects November 2006

Sixth District Finds California State University Not Required to Mitigate Offsite Impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act August/September 2003

Texas Supreme Court Resolves Uncertainty in Procedure for Approval of Water Permit Amendments August 2006

Ninth Circuit Holds that Conservation Easement Claims Brought by City after a Civil Compromise Were Not Barred by Res Judicata February 2004

Sixth District Finds Attorney’s Fees Unavailable to City in Action for Abatement of Public Nuisance and Violations of Municipal Code June 2007

First District Court Finds CEQA Is Not Implicated in Issuance of Federal Power Plant Permit. July 2004

District Court Holds that Recovery of Response Costs under CERCLA and State Law Are Subject to Statutes of Limitations Triggered by Response Actions Not Approved by EPA February 2007

District Court Holds State and Local Officials Are Entitled to Participate in the Selection of CERCLA Cleanups at Sites Formerly Owned by the United States March 2006

New York Trial Court Finds New York City Has Riparian Rights through Industrial Park August 2008

Sixth Circuit Finds U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Reasonable in Relying on Ohio EPA’s Clean Water Act Section 401 Waiver March 2006

News from the West May 2008

First District Rejects Determination of Comparative Equity Analysis in Reviewing Consolidated Condemnation Cases October 2007

EPA’s Long-Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule Upheld by D.C. Circuit January 2008

Fourth District Rules in Favor of RWQCB in Challenge to NPDES Permit for Municipal Storm Water April 2006

Court of Appeal Upholds Validity of Inland Empire Clean Water Act MS4 Permit March 2006

Rialto Files First Lawsuit Regarding Cleanup of Perchlorate in San Bernardino County March 2004

District Court in California Finds that Corporations Dissolved Prior to the Enactment of CERCLA Are Not Subject to Causes of Action under CERCLA April 2005

Ninth Circuit Holds U.S. EPA’s Administration of Unilateral Administrative Orders under CERCLA Is Not Subject to Judicial Review for ‘Pattern and Practice’ Claims November 2009

In Eminent Domain Action, Unreasonable Pre-condemnation Conduct Must be Found by the Court before Evidence of Klopping Damages May Go before the Jury October 2002

Fourth District Court Holds Pre-Election Challenge to Eminent Domain Initiative Does Not Violate Anti-SLAPP Law December 2007

The Best Laid Plans—From Legislation to Litigation over Texas Water Supplies October 2009

Fourth District Court Grants New Trial in Eminent Domain Matter after Finding Jury’s Damage Award Was “Against the Law” March 2005

Fourth Circuit Affirms Principle that Condemned Property Is to Be Valued as if Project for Which Property Is Condemned Does Not Exist April 2003

Texas City Has No Common Law Right to Reclaim Treated Effluent Discharged into River November 2003

Second District Court Affirms Trial Court’s Findings Regarding Goodwill, Valuation Date, and Admissibility of Expert Testimony in Eminent Domain Action May 2006

Second District Determines the Probable Date of Valuation in Eminent Domain Action Is the Date of Deposit of Probable Compensation April 2006

Sixth District Court Upholds City’s Exercise of Eminent Domain to Create Easements for City Road Improvements April 2004

Fifth Circuit Allows Dredge and Fill Permit for Construction of Ship Terminal at Bayport Shipping Channel Off Galveston Bay September 2005

Not Swayed by “Range of Alternatives—Inclusion of Alternatives” Arguments Attacking Environmental Impact Report, Court Upholds Condominium Project August 2004

California High Court Holds Government Claim Filing Requirements Apply to Developer’s Breach of Contract Claim against City January 2008

Third District Invalidates City’s Eminent Domain Attempt where Resolution of Necessity Failed to Specify the Public Use April 2009

Second Circuit Remands Thorny Question of Liability of State Governmental Entities in Conjunction with Eminent Domain/Clean Water Act Cleanup Litigation November 2006

Did the D.C. Circuit Strike a Knockout Punch to the Hydroelectric Power Industry? November 2006

Washington Court of Appeals Affirms Water Rights Relinquishment and Rejects Exemptions December 2008

Yakima County Superior Court Affirms Relinquishment of Water Rights Sought by City November 2007

News From the West March 2006

Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board Affirms Relinquishment of Water Rights Sought for Municipal Use February 2006

Court of Appeal Upholds Public Utility Commission's Ruling that an EIR Was Not Required for a Railway Expansion July 2001

Sixth District Determines that City Measure to Prevent Fluoridation of Drinking Water Supply Is Preempted by State Law Requiring Fluoridation January 2006

The Waukegan Harbor Saga Continues: U.S. District Court Dismisses City’s Suit against Local Industry October 2008

District Court Leaves Open Door Open on Issue: Can Ship Propellers Drive CERCLA Liability? May 2008

Jumping through Hoops on the Way to the Courthouse: Citizens for Open Government v. City of Lodi and the Duty to Exhaust Administrative Remedies under CEQA December 2006

News from the West March 2009

Montana Supreme Court Finds State Department of Environmental Quality Erroneously Issued a State Discharge Permit for Proposed Mining Operation March 2009

Fifth Circuit Holds Environmental Group Lacks Standing to Challenge Alleged Clean Air Act Preconstruction Permit Process Violations October 2008

Sacramento Superior Court Upholds City’s Approval of Residential Development Project and Denies Petition Challenging Sufficiency of the EIR April 2009

Santa Monica's Zoning Ordinance Restricting Occupancy of Second Units to Property Owners, Their Caregivers and Dependents, Violates the California Constitution July 2001

Coalition of Water Users Sue California Fish and Game Agencies over Striped Bass Fishing Regulations in the Delta April 2008

Three Lawsuits Filed in Federal District Court Challenging December 2008 Delta Smelt Biological Opinion May 2009

Court of Appeal Upholds Los Angeles Unified School District’s Adoption of Level Two School Impact Fees October 2003

California Court of Appeal Upholds Asbestos Emissions Standards December 2004

Recovering Recovery—The U.S. District Court for New Mexico Notes U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Improper Critical Habitat Designation Processes August 2009

Second District Court finds Actual Construction of Units within Coastal Zone Is Necessary to Trigger Mello Act’s Affordable Housing Requirement November 2003

Louisiana Court of Appeals Holds Owner of Premises Not Liable for Lessee's Contracts to Remediate Spills January 2002

Court of Appeal: Costa-Hawkins Act Inapplicable where San Francisco Rent Board Finds Landlord and Temporary Unit Occupant Formed New Lease by Conduct July 2002

U.S. Supreme Court Holds Army Corps’ Dredge and Fill Permit to Discharge Mining Slurry into Lake Trumps EPA Rules Prohibiting Mining Slurry Discharges August 2009

The U.S. Supreme Court Upholds a Corps Issued Clean Water Act 404 Permit in Lieu of a 402 Discharge Permit for Gold Mine Slurry Wastewater August 2009

ASARCO and HECLA Mining Held Responsible for Majority of Cleanup Costs and Natural Resources Damages at Coeur D’Alene River Basin November 2003

The Long Awaited and Controversial North Idaho Adjudication Begins Taking Claims February 2009

Colorado Supreme Court Holds that the Anti-Speculation Doctrine Applies to the Allocation and Administration of Designated Ground Water Located within the Denver Basin Aquifers November 2003

The City of Central Decision and the Future Administration of Colorado Water Rights April 2006

Colorado Supreme Court Requires Protection for Instream Flow Water Rights in Plans for Augmentation January 2006

Colorado Supreme Court Reviews First ‘Recreational In-Channel Diversion’ Case under New Legislation May 2005

Federal Circuit Court Decides Private Citizen’s Water Rights on Federal Grazing Allotment Are Not Compensable Property in Takings Suit January 2007

Kentucky Is a “One-Disease” State for Toxic Exposure March 2006

Fifth Circuit Allows Tort-Based Climate Change-Greenhouse Gas Emission Litigation Resulting from Hurricane Katrina Flooding December 2009

District Court in Indiana Holds that Indiana State Superfund Statute Applies Retroactively January 2005

Sixth District Court Permits CEQA Action Regarding Implementation of General Use Permit Condition beyond 30-Day Limitations Period June 2008

District Court Upholds Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Regulations Protecting Scenic Quality of Lake Tahoe. June 2004

Second District Court Rules City of Los Angeles Erroneously Relied upon CEQA Categorical Exemption to Approve Permit for Residential Fence June 2008

D.C. Circuit Defers to EPA’s Declination to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions Based on Scientific and Policy Grounds September 2005

Massachusetts Appeals Court Confirms Trial Court’s Discretion with Jury Instructions in Clean Water Act/State Water Quality Act Violation Case May 2008

U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Landmark Case on Global Warming January 2007

District Court Upholds "Substantial Continuity" Test for CERCLA Corporate Successor Liability January 2003

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Allows Criminal Conviction of Corporate Employee for Improper Disposal of Waste August 2002

Court of Appeal: Third District Court of Appeal Invalidates Portions of CEQA Guidelines December 2002

California Court of Appeal Affirms Revised Discharge Permit for Dioxin in Light of Pending Total Maximum Daily Load November 2005

California Court of Appeal Decides Question of Narrative Standards under Clean Water Act August/September 2003

Superior Court Sets Aside Final EIR for Refinery Expansion Project as Inadequate as to Project Description and GHG Mitigation Measures August 2009

Second District Concludes Permitted Maximum Emissions Improper Baseline for CEQA Review where ‘Realized Physical Conditions on the Ground’ Differed March 2008

California Court of Appeal Affirms Revised Discharge Permit for Dioxin in Light of Pending Total Maximum Daily Load November 2005

Communities for a Better Environment and Exxon Reach Settlement over California Water Quality May 2004

District Court Orders EPA to Review and Revise Carbon Monoxide National Ambient Air Quality Standards July 2008

Ninth Circuit Affirms Clean Water Act Citizen Suit against Dairy Operation November 2002

Utah Supreme Court Further Defines Extent of Public’s Right to Recreate in Waters of the State October 2008

San Joaquin Superior Court Grants New Trial in CEQA Challenge to City of Stockton Water Privatization Contract May 2004

Superior Court Rules that City of Stockton’s Privatization of Municipal Water and Wastewater Operations Is Not Exempt from California Environmental Quality Act December 2003

City of Stockton Abandons Appeal of Judgment Ordering Rescission of Contract for Privatization of Water and Sewer Services October 2007

First and Fourth Districts Reach Different Results on Private Attorney General Fee Awards where Petitioners Achieve Limited CEQA Claims Success October 2005

Third District Court Holds ‘Project’ for CEQA Purposes Does Not Arise Prior to Vesting of Rights and Agency Course of Action Decision March 2007

Adrift in the Water: Key Provisions of the Water Quality Program Remain Untethered February 2008

Colorado: Water Court Denies Withdrawal Application, Finding Modeling Inadequate to Prove Senior Appropriators Would Not Be Impacted July 2001

Colorado Water Court Finalizes Reserved Water Right Decree for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park February 2009

Colorado Water Court Awards Controversial “Recreational In-Channel Diversion” for Whitewater Park on Gunnison River February 2004

News from the West July 2008

Colorado Water Judge Voids State Engineer Well Regulations February 2003

Court of Appeal Allows Rent Increases after Finding No Substantial Evidence to Support Established Base Rents November 2001

Developments in the Law of Groundwater in Montana January 2006

Ninth Circuit Rejects Challenges to Actions—and Inactions—of the Pacific Northwest’s Bonneville Power Administration October 2003

Controversial Incidental Take Permit Is Issued Under Riverside County’s Huge Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan. August 2004

aaa April 2008

Court of Appeals: Ninth Circuit Holds Federal Legislation Exempts All-American Canal-Lining Project from Environmental Review June 2007

News from the West June 2007

Emergency Injunction by Ninth Circuit Halts the Lining of the All American Canal October 2006

Lining the All-American Canal Faces Additional Legal Challenges June 2006

District Court Dismisses Seven of Eight Claims Challenging the All-American Canal Lining Project May 2006

Imperial Irrigation District Seeks to Intervene and Dismiss Lawsuit by Mexicali Farmers Challenging Plan to Line the All-American Canal November 2005

Mexicali Farmers Sue to Stop Lining of All-American Canal October 2005

Fifth Circuit Holds Owner of Part of Facility Has Standing to Sue under RCRA to Clean Up Entire Facility October 2007

Second Circuit Holds CERCLA Liable Party May Sue under Section 107(a) for Response Costs Incurred Voluntarily November 2005

California Appellate Court Affirms Trial Court's Ruling that "Passive Migration" Is Not a "Discharge or Release" within the Meaning of the State's Proposition 65 Statute February 2003

Neither "Passive Migration" nor "Continued Presence" of Toxic Contaminants Constitutes a "Discharge" or "Release" under Proposition 65 February 2003

California Court Throws Out Several "Proposition 65" Lawsuits Using Federal Precedent on the Adequacy of 60-Day Notices June 2001

California Court of Appeal Blasts Overly Broad ‘Bounty Hunter’ Lawsuit under Proposition 65 May 2006

Sacramento Superior Court Invalidates EIR for Expansion of Sacramento Area Wastewater Treatment Plant February 2008

Eighth Circuit Holds that Seller of Property Complies with Cleanup Obligations by Obtaining No Further Action Letter from Agency May 2001

Ninth Circuit Holds Supersedeas Bond in Environmental Remediation Case Did Not Secure the Judgment against Both Co-Judgment Debtors March 2008

Fourth District Court Protects Landlord from Municipal Ordinance, which Violated Landlord’s Procedural Due Process Rights March 2005

New Mexico District Court Orders De Novo Appeal in Northern New Mexico Acequia Lawsuits Challenging Acequias’ Authority to Deny Water Transfers November 2007

Fifth Circuit Holds that the Freedom of Information Act's Categorical Exemptions Must Be Supported by Specific Facts March 2002

District Court Refuses to Reconsider Cost Recovery Judgment Despite Supreme Court Decision in Cooper Industries December 2005

Second Circuit Holds CERCLA Liable Party May Sue under Section 107(a) for Response Costs Incurred Voluntarily November 2005

District Court Applies Aviall and Dismisses All CERCLA Claims by One Potentially Responsible Party against Another October 2005

Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Aviall Services, Inc. (Or: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Read the SARA Amendments) February 2005

Ninth Circuit Rules FWS Does Not Have Enforceable Duty under the ESA to Promptly Delist after Five-Year Species Review August 2008

Prospective Purchaser in a Project Subject to the Subdivided Lands Law Was Entitled to Recover under a Bond for Developer Breach, where Agreement Preceded Bond March 2004

Colorado Supreme Court Reiterates the Importance of Compliance with State Rules of Civil Procedure In Water Rights Cases July 2009

Delta Landowners File Suit against DWR to Determine Who Has the Duty to Clear Sedimentation from North Delta Channels October 2008

District Court Holds Plaintiff’s Nuisance Claim Does Not Violate the Burford and Primary Jurisdiction Doctrines April 2008

Colorado Supreme Court Examines Whether Prevailing Party Costs Are Available to Parties Supporting State Engineer’s Groundwater Rules in Court February 2010

Colorado Supreme Court to Address Groundwater Rules and the Legislatively-Imposed Standard of Sustainability October 2007

Cottonwood Christian Center v. Cypress Redevelopment Agency and the City of Cypress: Viewing Condemnation through the Eyes of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act by Marc Alexander January 2003

Environmental Organization Challenges U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Failure to Uplist Delta Smelt to Endangered Status December 2009

First District Rules Inverse Condemnation Action Unripe, Rejects Application of Futility Exception to Ripeness Doctrine December 2005

Third District Court Affirms Attorneys’ Fees Award Against State Agencies which Attempted to Convert Farmland under Williamson Act Contract into Wildlife Habitat February 2007

Third District Rules Air Quality and Alternatives Analysis In EIR/EA for Proposed Hotel, Casino and Highway Interchange Project Inadequate January 2006

First District Court Holds Williamson Act Contract Is Subject to Subsequently Adopted County Guidelines November 2008

Appellate Victory a Step Forward for the Quantification Settlement Agreement As Imperial County Petitions for Rehearing August 2007

California Court of Appeal Rules Los Angeles Regional Board’s MS4 Permit Is Not Subject to California Environmental Quality Act December 2006

Second District Rules that Regional Board Orders Are Not Exempt from State Constitutional Requirements for Reimbursement of Mandated Costs July 2007

Ninth Circuit Denies Appeal Challenging Decision of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Protect Endangered Species by Requiring Reduction In Water Use January 2004

Water Rights Decisions in Washington’s Okanogan County Uphold Agency Decisions Reducing Diversions, Increasing Instream Flows October 2003

Fourth District Court of Appeal’s Ruling Clarifies Scope of Administrative Record in Lawsuits Filed under the California Environmental Quality Act January 2004

Third District Dismisses CEQA Claims for Failure to Make a Written Request for Hearing within 90 Days of Filing the Complaint February 2010

Third District Holds Government Code Limiting Attorney’s Fee Awards to the Amount Incurred by the County, Applies Only to Fees Authorized by County Ordinance August 2009

California Supreme Court Addresses Landfill Liability for Water Quality Impacts: If No Damage Award, then No Indemnity November 2005

Sixth Circuit Rules Neither Federal Homeland Security Provisions Nor State Public Records Law Precluded Disclosure of Geographic Information Basemap April 2009

Sixth District Court Holds State Law Preempts County Ordinance Requiring Local Approval for Installation of Multi-Story Mobilehomes June 2005

First District Court Finds Gift of Property to Solano County Is Subject to Deed Restrictions November 2007

Fifth District Court Requires Kern County to Prepare an EIR Prior to Adoption of Municipal Ordinance Regulating Use of Sewage Sludge June 2005

Ninth Circuit May Have Found Global Standing for Ozone Citizen Suits March 2004

District Court Denies Environmental Justice Claim under Federal Civil Rights Law November 2004

Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board Rejects Vegetation Removal as Mitigation for Groundwater Rights August 2007

Second District Court Finds Quiet Title Action to Parking Spaces Required to Be Transferred Pursuant to CC&Rs Timely Filed by Party in Posession February 2008

Ninth Circuit Recognizes that Takings Clause Does Not Completely Foreclose Due Process Claims Relating to Land Use Regulation March 2008

Fourth Circuit Approves Nationwide Permit Program for Construction of Wastewater Treatment Plant June 2003

District Court Holds D.C.’s Terrorism Prevention Act Constitutional and Not Preempted by Federal Law June 2005

D.C. Circuit Lets Stand Order of the FCC, Finding Construction of Wireless Towers Constitutes an “Undertaking” Subject to National Historic Preservation Act December 2006

Agency Decision Not to Conduct Further Environmental Review of Redevelopment Plan Component Does Not Require Public Notice under CEQA November 2002

Court of Appeal Confirms that in Action for Inverse Condemnation, Recovery of Mitigation Expenses Is Not Dependant upon a Showing that, "but for" the Mitigation Efforts, Damages Would Have Been Sustained July 2003

City of San Diego Sued Over Plans to Convert Wastewater Into Drinking Water January 2006