Ahmanson Ranch Litigation Enters Next Phase March 2003

Ohio Court of Appeals Rejects Claims for Stigma Damages Based on Mere Proximity to Environmental Pollution August 2003

Third District Concludes Airport Variance Did Not Entitle County to Obstruct Navigable Airspace in Perpetuity October 2006

Settlement Agreement Finalized in Historic Santa Margarita River Water Rights Dispute June 2002

D.C. Circuit Upholds Protection of Arroyo Southwestern Toad In the Face of a Commerce Clause Challenge June 2003

Agriculture Activity Protection Statute Bars Suit Against Farmer who Engages in Activities Constituting a Nuisance — Even if the Suit is Pleaded in Trespass October 2002

Eighth Circuit Upholds Army Corps’ Clean Water Act Jurisdiction under Justice Kennedy’s Adjacent Criteria Standard in Rapanos October 2009

Eighth Circuit Adopts First Circuit’s Views Regarding Application of the Rapanos Decision August 2009

Sixth Circuit Determines that ‘Sidecasting’ into Adjacent Wetlands without a Permit Violates Clean Water Act March 2009

Congressional Bills May Expand Federal Power under the Clean Water Act to Regulate Water Beyond Constitutional Limits April 2008

District Court Finds It Impossible to Apply ‘Precedent’ Set by Supreme Court in Rapanos to Subsequent Clean Water Act Cases January 2008

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

Eleventh Circuit Applies Rapanos ‘Significant Nexus Test’ to Determine Criminal Activity for Discharges to Navigable Waters December 2007

Ninth Circuit Holds Water-Filled Quarry Adjacent to the Russian River Has a Significant Nexus with Waters of the U.S. October 2007

Developers Challenge New Corps, EPA Guidance for Asserting Wetlands Jurisdiction August 2007

Floating a New Boat on the Jurisdictional Waters—Army Corps of Engineers and EPA Issue Rapanos Guidance August 2007

District Court Denies Motion to Vacate Consent Decree Resolving Water Pollution Statutes Entered into Pre-Rapanos July 2007

U.S. EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Issue New Wetlands Regulatory Guidance July 2007

EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Announce New Joint Guidance for Establishing Clean Water Act Jurisdiction over Waters of the United State July 2007

District Court Finds Challenge to Property Falling within ‘Navigable Waters’ Definition Cannot Be the Basis for Dismissal for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction June 2007

District Court Finds Gun Club’s Pond No Longer a Navigable Water in Light of U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Rapanos March 2007

First Circuit Offers Broader New Understanding of Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Following Supreme Court’s Rapanos Plurality Decision December 2006

Seventh Circuit to Follow Justice Kennedy’s Concurrence (Usually) when Applying Rapanos November 2006

Ninth Circuit Applies Rapanos and Holds City of Healdsburg’s Wastewater Discharge into Former Mining Pond Subject to Clean Water Act October 2006

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

District Court Finds Boston May Not Require an All Hybrid Taxi Fleet Due to Federal Preemption November 2009

District Court Concludes It May Abstain from Enforcing Federal Environmental Laws—Dismisses Suit under RCRA and the CWA July 2010

Tenth Circuit Finds that Successor Company Is Not Liable as an "Operator" or "Arranger" under CERCLA May 2003

Tenth Circuit Affirms Judgment against Aircraft Company for Remediation Costs under CERCLA Section 107(A) for TCE Groundwater Contamination March 2010

District Court Confirms Implied Right to Contribution under CERCLA Section 107 for Cleanup August 2006

EPA’s Cost Recovery Counterclaim Filed after Cleanup Completion Appropriate under CERCLA Interpretation or as Exercise of Discretion under Federal Civil Procedure April 2008

District Court Holds Issuance of CERCLA Admin. Order Naming Only Private Entity as Responsible Party when U.S. Government Is Only Other PRP Does Not Violate Due Process October 2007

District Court Finds a Party May Depose Opposing Counsel in a CERCLA Contribution Action where Counsel Drafted the Response to EPA Request June 2007

District Court Interprets Brownfields Amendments to CERCLA ‘All Appropriate Inquiry’ Standard as Non-Retroactive August 2006

Colorado Supreme Court Upholds Water Court’s Denial of Applicant’s Change Case for ‘Developed Water’ and Determination that Existing Decree Can Be Re-Opened to Examine Historic Nature and Use August 2005

Finding Trial Court Misinterpreted Scope of Easement, Fourth District Reverses Inverse Condemnation and Direct Taking Awards Against Fallbrook Public Utility District October 2006

Second District Upholds Coastal Commission’s Denial of a Coastal Development Permit as Inconsistent with City’s Local Coastal Plan February 2010

District Court Applies Porter-Cologne Act to Hold Defendants Liable for Government Response Costs under Polanco Act, but Government Not Excused from Notice Requirements August 2007

Fourth District Court Finds in Favor of Redevelopment Agency—Rejects Challenge to ‘Taking’ of Business Properties Where Right to Challenge Was Waived November 2007

Redevelopment Agency May Seek Order Compelling Party to Remove Environmental Contamination within a Project Area to Establish Standing under Polanco Redevelopment Act November 2003

Fourth District Finds Redevelopment Agency's Acquisition of Private Property through Eminent Domain Proper March 2002

Second District Court Remands Award of Attorneys’ Fees to Condemnees in Redevelopment Agency Eminent Domain Suit January 2008

District Court In California Confirms the Difficulty in Obtaining Preliminary Injunctions in Environmental Cleanup Cases June 2006

Second District Court Holds Business Competitor Lacks Standing to Bring CEQA Lawsuit October 2007

California Supreme Court Finds Impairment of Visibility of Billboard Not a Compensable Taking Absent Further Claim of Damage October 2006

Second District Court Denies Compensation for Loss of Visibility Claim in Inverse Condemnation Action April 2005

Second District Court Rejects Lessee’s Claim for Goodwill in University of California Condemnation Action November 2004

Interpreting Water Code § 1126 for the First Time, Superior Court Denied Motions to Dismiss D-1641 Cases for Failure to Name the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as a Defendant April 2001

Yolo County Superior Court Upholds Discharge Permit Issued by Regional Water Quality Control Board to University of California April 2001

In CERCLA Action to Declare Liability Where No Response Costs Have Been Incurred, District Court Dismisses Section 113 Claim but Permits Section 107 Claim January 2008

Ninth Circuit Refuses to Review Nevada Nevada’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration Program September 2003

First District Upholds Severable Portions of Oakland’s ‘Just Cause’ Eviction Ordinance April 2009

District Court Clarifies Grounds for Preliminary Injunctions under RCRA April 2010

Napa Superior Court Rules that Private Plaintiff May Challenge City’s Operation of Dam for Violation of the Public Trust July 2010

FEDERAL/NEW MEXICO: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Issues Programmatic Biological Opinion for Rio Grande Silvery Minnow and Southwestern Willow Flycatcher; Second Amended Complaint Filed in Ongoing ESA Litigation October 2001

First Circuit, while Acknowledging “Collateral Order Doctrine,” Denies State of Rhode Island’s Standing before Federal Environmental Appeals Board. September 2004

Fifth Circuit Rejects Application of Oil Pollution Act to Groundwater Contamination July 2001

D.C. Circuit Finds Pollution Exclusion Does Not Bar Coverage from Carbon Monoxide Fumes Leaking from Furnace August 2003

Second District Court Upholds City’s Extension of Conditional Use Permit Despite Separate Agreement to Discontinue Use March 2008

The Writing on the Wall: The Applicability of Proposition 218 to Charges for Water Service after Richmond v. Shasta Community Services District June 2004

Supreme Court: California Supreme Court Clarifies the Meaning of “Assessment” under the Right to Vote on Taxes Act in Connection with Municipal Water Connection Fee May 2004

California Supreme Court Clarifies the Meaning of “Assessment” under the Right to Vote on Taxes Act in Connection with Municipal Water Connection Fee April 2004

District Court Dismisses Citizen Suit under RCRA against Environmental Consultant Due to Lack of Privity of Contract February 2009

First District Finds a Plaintiff Must Be Able to Prove Damages to Maintain a Cause of Action for Inverse Condemnation July 2010

Suit Filed Against Approval of Pilot Desalination Plant on Monterey County March 2007

Groundwater and Surface Water Issues Continue in Idaho January 2004

San Diego Superior Court Upholds San Diego County Water Authority's Water Transportation Rate Methodology July 2003

Suit to Invalidate County Ordinance Setting Water Transportation Rate Charges Dismissed—Is Not a Capacity Charge Defined by Government Code Section 66013 October 2004

Long-Standing Silvery Minnow-Middle Rio Grande Litigation Scheduled for Briefing before the Tenth Circuit August 2006

District Court in New Mexico Issues Final Order Disposing of Any Remaining Claims in Agency Action February 2006

New Mexico District Court Rules that the United States Owns Property in the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District—District Appeals October 2005

Tenth Circuit Dismisses Appeals as Moot and Vacates Opinion in Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Litigation February 2004

Tenth Circuit Holds that U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Has Discretion to Reduce Contract Water Deliveries and Restrict Diversions to Meet Its Duties under the Endangered Species Act August/September 2003

Tenth Circuit Reverses District Court Ruling that U.S. Government May Take Rio Grande Water for the Endangered Rio Grande Silvery Minnow June 2010

California Court of Appeal Finds Statute of Limitations for Employees' Personal Injury Claims Not Preempted by CERCLA June 2002

District Court Holds RCRA Citizen Suit Filed before Entry of an Administrative Order Is Barred December 2008

District Court Allows Citizen Suit under Clean Water Act where Permit Not Modified by Consent Decree, Denies Claims Discharged in Bankruptcy February 2010

Can a ‘Suite’ of Technologies Constitute the ‘Best Available’ Technology under the Clean Water Act? Second Circuit Skeptically Remands EPA’s Phase II Cooling Water Intake Rules June 2007

Citizens Group Successfully Challenges EPA’s Implementation of CWA Regarding Cooling Water Intake Structures at Existing Power Plants March 2007

Can a ‘Suite’ of Technologies Constitute the ‘Best Available Technology’ under the Clean Water Act? Second Circuit Skeptically Remands EPA’s Phase II Cooling Water Intake Rules March 2007

Second Circuit Rules on Regulation to Limit Environmental Impacts from Power Plants and Industrial Facilities April 2004

First Circuit Addresses the Issue of Qualified Immunity for Unreasonable Searches Conducted by EPA Inspectors. February 2005

Court-Issued Writ Commanding Agency to Account for “All” Sources of Pollution Is Limited to Sources Identified in EIR January 2005

Examining the Importance of the California Supreme Court’s Decision in Save Tara v. City of West Hollywood April 2009

Fourth District Finds Water District’s Contractual Agreement for Water to Landfill Was Part of the Overall Project and Approval Subject to CEQA March 2009

Second Circuit Affirms Grant of Summary Judgment that Language in Purchase Contract for Sale of Petroleum Business Constituted Sale of Assets Excluding Environmental Liabilities July 2003

Development Spurs Revisions in Ditch Easement Case Law in Colorado August 2003

Plaintiffs Suing in State Court Meet Federal Standard of Notice of Intent to Sue but Fail to Meet State’s Requirement January 2006

Ninth Circuit Clarifies Application of Sovereign Immunity under the Quiet Title Act January 2010

U.S. Army Corps Blanket Defense of Sovereign Immunity Rejected by District Court in One Strand of the Consolidated Hurricane Katrina Canal Breaches Litigation April 2007

Seventh Circuit Holds Intermittent Flooding Creating a Wetland May Be a Compensable Taking under Illinois Law June 2007

Damage Award of over $217 Million for PCB Contamination Reversed on Appeal in Kentucky State Court November 2003

District Court Upholds Claim Challenging California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Based on Federal Conflict Preemption Principles August 2010

District Court Finds Rhode Island Law Protects Superfund Debtor from Contribution Liability April 2004

Fourth District Finds the California Department of Transportation's Acquisition of Park Property Did Not Require Legislative Approval February 2003

Ninth Circuit Holds District Court Was Not the Forum for a School District’s Clean Air Act Title V Permit Challenge January 2009

District Court Resolves Jurisdictional Impasse in De Novo Review of Utah State Engineer Decisions January 2008

Fourth District Court Rules Service of Petition Was Untimely for Conditional Use Permit Challenge and without Exception under Government Code March 2005

Fourth District Court Finds that Letters Written by Homeowners’ Association Attorney Fall under Anti- SLAPP Statute Protection February 2006

Connecticut Landowner Obtains Prescriptive Easement over Neighboring Parcel for Access to Long Island Sound May 2006