Second District Finds Landlord’s Refusal to Accept ‘Section 8’ Housing Assistance Is Not Discrimination under the State Fair Employment and Housing Act June 2010

Superior Court Rejects Petitioners’ CEQA Challenges to Sacramento ‘Railyards Project’ January 2010

Opening Briefs Filed in Challenges to CEQA Environmental Impact Report Prepared for ‘Railyards’ Specific Plan February 2009

Superior Court Holds Real Party and Respondent Agency Limited to One Peremptory Disqualification between Them—Denies Motions to Consolidate Challenges to ‘Railyard’ Development May 2008

Sacramento County Files Lawsuit Against Florin Resources Conservation District October 2001

Ninth Circuit Provides Guidance on the Interpretation of a State Implementation Plan under the Clean Air Act March 2007

Westlands Water District Settles Lawsuit with Massive Ag Land Retirement Program; First Phase of Two-phased Land Retirement Plan July 2002

Second Circuit Finds Conversion to Motion for Summary Judgment Was without Adequate Notice January 2009

Ninth Circuit Finds Judicially Enforceable Settlement Agreement Entitled Party to Attorney’s Fees as the ‘Prevailing Party’ under Clean Water Act Section 1365(d) October 2009

U.S. Supreme Court Quells Injunction against Display of Latin Cross Where Transfer of Land to Private Party Changed Circumstances Underlying Injunction’s Purpose July 2010

First District Court Overturns County Project Approval Based on Improper Reliance on Mitigation Measures to Grant a Categorical Exemption under CEQA March 2005

News from the West—Protecting Salmon December 2006

Fourth District Rules CEQA Does Not Apply to County Decision to Place Local Sales Tax Measure Promulgated by Local Transportation Authority on Ballot March 2006

Second District Holds Repeal of Water Code Provisions for Consolidation Did Not Eliminate Mechanism for Consolidation under Cortese-Knox LAFCO Act July 2009

Recent Investigations, Settlements, Penalties and Sanctions May 2005

Desalination Meets CEQA (Again): San Diego Coastkeeper Challenges Environmental Compliance for the Carlsbad Desalination Project December 2009

San Diego County Water Authority Files Lawsuit against Metropolitan Water District Alleging Illegal Water Rates August 2010

Court of Appeal Upholds Metropolitan Water District’s Interpretation of 1931 Water Allocation Formula May 2004

Fourth District Court Confirms Trial Date for Valuation in Eminent Domain—Distinguishes Mt. San Jacinto Community College District Decision February 2008

Fourth District Court of Appeal Finds Action for Partial Condemnation for Loss of Use of Land May Co-Exist with Claim for Severance Damages May 2005

Fourth District Holds Additional CEQA Review Is Not Required Where a Public Agency Does Not Have Discretionary Approval over a Project August 2010

San Diego County Water Authority Challenges Metropolitan Water District’s Interpretation of a 1931 Water Rights Formula April 2004

Metropolitan Member Agencies Join in "Preferential Rights" Suit Brought by San Diego County Water Authority against Metropolitan and Los Angeles October 2001

First District Reaffirms Deferential Standard of Review for General Plan Consistency, CEQA Compliance and Blight Determinations December 2002

Ninth Circuit Finds Liability under the Clean Water Act May Survive the Sale December 2002

Lawsuit Filed Alleging End-Run of Clean Water Act NPDES Requirements for Central Valley Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations April 2008

Sacramento County Superior Court Upholds Narrative-Based General Stormwater Permit Associated With Construction Activity July 2005

News from the West May 2007

Ninth Circuit Determines Best Management Practices May Be Used Instead of Numerical Limits For Storm Water Discharges April 2007

California District Court Rules that the Clean Water Act Protects Water Bodies Adjacent to Navigable Waters July 2003

aaa April 2008

Ninth Circuit Finds that EPA Had No Duty to Establish Total Maximum Daily Loads for the State of California June 2002

District Court Dismisses Labor Organization’s Request for Order Preventing Air District from Issuing Power Plant Permits and to Compel EPA to Issue Endangerment Determination June 2008

Property Owner Cannot Seek the Value of Improvements in Inverse Condemnation Proceeding  Where it Failed to Seek Court Approval in Preceding Eminent Domain Action June 2004

Third District Court Holds Irrigation District Could Not Depose LAFCO Commissioners to Discover Information Relating to the Commission’s Denial of Its Application June 2008

Fifth District Rejects EIR for Inadequate Project Description, Baseline Assumptions, and Improperly Deferred Mitigation June 2007

News from the West July 2010

Third District Upholds Salinity Standards and Dissolved Oxygen Studies in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin June 2010

Ninth Circuit Finds City’s Decision to Deny Christian College’s Request for Zoning Change Did Not Violate the First Amendment May 2004

Contractual Right to Negotiate a Disposition and Development Agreement Does Not Give Rise to a Property Interest that Is Subject to the Power of Eminent Domain October 2003

Sixth District Holds School Closure Decision Properly Exempt from CEQA August 2006

Lawsuit Filed over Contra Costa Water District’s Plan to Divert Water from a New Delta Intake Location February 2007

News from the West June 2010

Update on the Salmonid and Delta Smelt Biological Opinions’ Restrictions on Pumping Operations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta May 2010

Delta Salmon/Smelt Consolidated Cases: Salmon TRO Granted, Delta Smelt TRO Denied, Preliminary Injunction Hearing Set March 2010

California Department of Water Resources Intervenes in Consolidated Delta Smelt Litigation February 2010

District Court Holds U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Required to Perform NEPA Review for Implementation of Delta Smelt Biological Opinion January 2010

Judge Wanger Issues Rulings in the Consolidated Proceedings Regarding the Fish and Wildlife Service’s BiOp and the Authority to Regulate Delta Smelt December 2009

Recent Ruling by the U.S. District Court Provides Clarification on the Federal Government’s Ability to Account for Water Designated for Species Protection July 2009

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

Federal: Government Appeals Federal Court Invalidation of Sacramento Splittail Listing January 2001

Government Appeals Federal Court Invalidation of Sacramento Splittail Listing January 2001

Ninth Circuit Finds that Nuclear Regulatory Commission Violated NEPA by Dismissing as ‘Remote and Highly Speculative’ the Possibility of a Terrorist Attack on Nuclear Facility August 2006

U.S. Supreme Court Holds that State Court Decision on Fifth Amendment Takings Claim Precludes Later Federal Court Review August 2005

Thrice More into the Breach: The U.S. Supreme Court Takes on Takings in Kelo, San Remo and Lingle August 2005

Redevelopment Agency Real Property Transfers at Fair Reuse Value: Santa Ana Transit Village and the Requirement for the Payment of Prevailing Wages March 2006

Unnecessary Preparation of Environmental Impact Report by Santa Barbara County Did Not Waive CEQA Exemption for Local Coastal Plan Amendment October 2004

EPA Approves Plan by Northeast States to Lower Mercury Levels in Fish February 2008

Second District Court Applies Vineyard Principles for the First Time in Approving County’s Water Supply Analysis November 2007

Court Rules that Revised EIR Adequately Disclosed Water Supply Uncertainty and Perchlorate Impact in SCOPE Case March 2006

Win Some. Lose Some. Will It Ever End? The War over Water Supply in the Santa Clarita Valley April 2005

Recent Court Decisions and Publications Provide Guidance in Piecing Together Water Supply Analyses for Development Projects October 2004

Newhall Project Delayed Again by Appellate Court; More Water Supply Analysis Required April 2003

Partial  Statement of Decision  Issued in Santa  Maria Valley Groundwater Litigation June 2004

Court Provisionally Approves Stipulation to End Eight-Year Santa Maria Basin Adjudication August 2005

Court of Appeal Upholds Santa Monica's Adoption of Preferential Parking Zone for Residents under Categorical Exemption to CEQA November 2002

Landlord’s Notices to Rent Control Board Regarding Property’s Availability in Rental Market Did Not Insulate Landlord from Prior-Rents Scrutiny by Board August/September 2003

Court of Appeal Finds Supreme Court's Summary Denial of Mandamus Petition on Thermal Power Plant Sufficient to Constitute Final Determination on the Merits of the Claim April 2003

Expansion of Water Recycling Program Did Not Require a Supplemental EIR under CEQA February 2004

Both Connecticut and the Second Circuit Deny Developer Damages for Stigma Resulting from Temporary Taking October 2003

Connecticut Appellate Court Finds Denial of Right to Build Home Near Wetlands Area Is Inadequate Demonstration of Hardship May 2007

Seventh Circuit Allows Citizen Suit for PCB Cleanup in Bloomington, Indiana to Proceed June 2005

Property Owners May Present Evidence, at Eminent Domain Proceeding, of Increases in the Fair Market Value of Property Where to Not Do So Might Limit Just Compensation June 2002

Sixth Circuit Holds that Environmental Statute Whistleblower Provisions Do Not Protect Employees Fired for Performing Assigned Duties July 2005

Court Upholds Limited Discovery of Nonlitigants’ Financial Contributions to Public Interest Group’s Litigation as Relevant to Group’s Motion to Recover Fees under “Private Attorney General” Statute January 2001

Sixth District Court of Appeal Holds that Approval of a Proposed Water Credit Transfer Violated CEQA August 2006

Superior Court Rejects Challenge to Water Credit Transfer Administered by the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District August 2005

Twin Lawsuits Challenge CEQA Compliance for Water Credit Transfers on Monterey Peninsula April 2005

Third District Finds City’s Reliance on Addendum to Previous Project’s Mitigated Negative Declaration Violates CEQA October 2006

San Diego's "Coastal Height Limit Overlay Zone" Does Not Apply to Federal Property Transferred for City Use March 2003

Court of Appeal Holds Project EIR Inadequate for Failure to Adequately Analyze Property's Historic Water Use "Baseline" as of Date Environmental Review Commenced May 2001

Court of Appeal Holds Project EIR Inadequate for Failure to Adequately Analyze Property's Historic Water Use "Baseline" as of Date Environmental Review Commenced April 2001

D.C. Circuit Court Denies Petition for Review Resulting in Partial Removal of Project Dam February 2006

Ninth Circuit Finds U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Could Encompass Entirety of Proposed Development Site October 2004

In Arizona, Federal Judge Halts North Phoenix Development Based on Effects of Clean Water Act Permit August 2002

First District Court Finds Alameda Initiative to Amend County General Plan Inapplicable to Previously Issued Surface Mining Permit January 2005

Fourth District Court Finds EIR’s Failure to Address Prospective ‘Second Dwelling Units’ Not Fatal February 2008

Fifth District Finds Claim that Memorandum of Understanding Approval Violated CEQA to Be Moot May 2010

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

California Supreme Court Finds Agreement Conditioned on Developer’s Future Compliance with CEQA May Be Deemed a ‘Project Approval’ Requiring CEQA Review January 2009

Second District Finds that CEQA Review Is a Prerequisite to Approval of Agreement for Conveyance and Development of Historic Property April 2007

Second District Finds EIR Was Needed before Enactment of an Ordinance Prohibiting Certain Retail Stores from Providing Plastic Bags to Customers March 2010

Local Agency Need Not Find Street is No Longer Necessary for Vehicle Traffic when Closing or Modifying a Street Entirely within Its Jurisdiction May 2001

District Court: District Court in Indiana Reprimands State Agency's Sloppy Enforcement of CAFO Water Permitting Procedures December 2002

First Circuit Permits Developer to Proceed in Federal Civil Rights Action against City for Alleged Obstruction of Development Project December 2008

Second Circuit Finds Landfill Operator Time Barred from Pursuing Indemnification of Response Costs under CERCLA’s § 107 October 2006

Landfill Operator Loses All Claims in Contribution Due to Lapsed Statute of Limitations under CERCLA November 2004

First District Finds Lengthy Delay in Preparation of EIR Did Not Entitle the Developer to Mandamus Compelling Certification of the EIR February 2010

Supreme Court of Texas Creates Bright-Line Rule for Distinguishing Temporary and Permanent Nuisances December 2004

Second District Concludes Boaters’ Right to View Coastline Not a Proper Consideration in Coastal Commission’s Regulation of Coastal Development October 2006

Fourth District Court Removes Procedural Hurdle to Water Quality Litigation March 2008

Second District Court Finds Burden on Commercial Enterprise Used to Fund Religious Organization Does Not Constitute Substantial Burden within the Meaning of RLUIPA December 2007

U.S. Supreme Court Holds that a Dam Raises the Potential for Discharge; State Certification of Compliance with Clean Water Act Is Required June 2006

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Argument on the Regulation of Dams Under Clean Water Act April 2006

U.S. Supreme Court to Re-Examine the Permitting of Intra-Basin Water Transfers January 2006

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine Holds that the Passing of Pollutants through a Hydroelectric Dam Constitutes a “Discharge” under the Clean Water Act April 2005

Ninth Circuit Rejects Claim that Statute Excluding Exxon Valdez Tanker from Prince William Sound Unconstitutional January 2003

Utah Supreme Court Alters Long-Standing Rule on Burden of Proof in Change Application Proceedings October 2005

First District Rules Coastal Commission Lacks Authority to Declare Property Environmentally Sensitive Habitat on Appeal from Grant ofCoastal Development Permit March 2008

Designating Land as “Environmentally Sensitive” under the Coastal Act After Security National Guaranty v. California Coastal Commission March 2008

Ninth Circuit Upholds Agencies’ Findings that a New Access Road to Timber Harvest Site Will Not Jeopardize or Significantly Impact Grizzly Bear Population October 2003

New York District Court Allows a Responsible Party to Maintain a CERCLA Section 107 Claim but Finds for Defendant on Divisibility Defense June 2006

First District Finds County Ordinance Imposing Additional Requirements to Convert Rental Mobilehome Parks to Resident-Owned Was Preempted by Subdivision Map Act October 2009

Landowner Is Time Barred from Challenging Predecessor’s Irrevocable Offer of Dedication Made in Return for Development Entitlements October 2004

Eighth Circuit Finds EPA Penalty under Clean Water Act Section 1319(g) (1) for Failure to Apply for Storm Water Permit, Inappropriate February 2010

In a Case of First Impression, California Court of Appeal Holds One-Year Statute of Limitation Applies to Action to Recover Penalties under Proposition 65 June 2003

Brown Act’s Pending Litigation Exception Does Not Authorize Non-Party Agency to Meet in Closed Session with Legal Counsel January 2006

Court of Appeal Legislative Bodies Must Provide Detail of Items Noticed for Closed Session Discussions, and Confine Discussions to Those Items Noticed, to Be in Compliance under Brown Act May 2002

Massachusetts Landowner, Facing Water Resources Protection Zoning Classification and, Simultaneous “Less Restrictive” Zoning Classification Loses Due Process and Police Power Challenges May 2006

Sixth District Affirms Finding of No Taking where County’s Denial of Permit Did Not Deprive Owners of All Economically Beneficial Use of Property March 2009

California District Court Dismisses Developer’s Claims Challenging State Agency Cleanup of Landfill Gas at Former Air Force Base January 2006

Claims Court Finds U.S. Liable under World War II-Era Contracts for CERCLA Response Costs Incurred by Oil Companies April 2008

Federal Claims Court Finds U.S. Must Reimburse Oil Companies for Cleanup Costs Incurred by Reason of WWII AVGAS Production August 2010

CERCLA Response Costs Assessed against U.S. Based On WWII Contracts for Aviation Fuel Production June 2009

Placing of Land in Trust Does Not Automatically Void Williamson Act Contract October 2002

New Jersey Appellate Division Finds Land Owner Entitled to Reversal of Agency Decision Denying Coastal Building Permit October 2007

Sixth Circuit Holds Sierra Club Entitled to Attorneys’ Fees as a ‘Catalyst’ in Citizen Suit under Clean Water Act Section 1365(d) December 2007

City of Los Angeles Agrees to Additional Owens River Restoration February 2004

Judge orders Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to Restore Section of the Lower Owens River October 2005

Colorado District Court Finds No Reason to Stay Clean Water Act Citizen Suit, Despite Existence of Pending State Agency Proceeding on Discharge June 2002

Fifth Circuit Reverses EPA's Approval of State Implementation Plan for Beaumont, Texas February 2003

Ninth Circuit Finds "Shall" Means "May" - EPA Decisions Regarding Enforcement Action under the Clean Water Act Are Discretionary Decisions Not Subject to Judicial Review December 2001

FEDERAL/ARIZONA: Ninth Circuit Finds "Shall" Means "May" - EPA Decisions Regarding Enforcement Action under the Clean Water Act Are Discretionary Decisions Not Subject to Judicial Review. November 2001

Eleventh Circuit Rejects Assertion that EPA Improperly Approved Florida’s Removal of Impaired Water Bodies from Its 2002 Section 303(d) August 2007

Michigan CAFO Rules Adjudged Deficient under Clean Water Act by State Appeals Court March 2008

Ninth Circuit Finds Forest Service Violated NEPA by Failing to Properly Assess Significance of Hazardous Fuels Reduction Categorical Exclusion February 2008

California Supreme Court Backs Coasal Commission Grant of Housing Development Permit July 2005

California Coastal Commission Does Not Have Jurisdiction to Consider Impacts Outside the Coastal Zone June 2003

First District Rules EIR Required for Timberland-to- Vineyard Conversion with Potential Impacts to Watershed and ‘Sediment and Temperature Impaired’ Salmon June 2007

District Court Holds Government’s Failure to Produce Public Records in CWA Suit Does Not Amount to Irreparable Harm February 2009

District Court Provides Additional Guidance for Calculating Clean Water Act Penalties January 2008

District Court Clarifies Appropriate Method for Calculating Violations under the Clean Water Act June 2007

Eighth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Award of Attorneys’ Fees to Plaintiff in Clean Water Act Case February 2004

Appellate Court Affirms Superior Court Ruling Enjoining Los Angeles from Exporting Owens Valley Water November 2006

Superior Court Finds Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in Violation of Stipulated Orders regarding Lower Owens River August 2005

Fourth District Court Holds Challenge Brought within 30 Days of Posting Amended Notice of Determination Timely Filed and Upholds Analysis in Supplemental EIR July 2008

Sierra Club and California AG Settle Dispute with City of Stockton over Its 2035 General Plan—Climate Change Must Be Addressed November 2008

First District Affirms Decision Finding Inclusion of Economic Feasibility Analysis in an Environmental Impact Report Unnecessary October 2004

News from the West: Clean Water Act Litigation—Federal District Courts Address ‘Navigable Waters’ with Texas’ Intermittent Creeks; ‘Ongoing’ Water Pollution from Mining in Alaska; and Collateral Estoppel Principles in Mining Pollution Case in Colorado November 2006

Tenth Circuit Rules that Passive Leaching of Pollutants from Inactive Mine may Require Owner to Obtain Clean Water Act permit October 2005

Fourth Circuit Reverses District Court Rescission of CWA 404 Permits to Allow Filling of State Waters In Conjunction with Area Surface Coal Mining Operations April 2009

D.C. Circuit Finds EPA Rule Preventing State and Local Agencies from Supplementing Clean Air Act Monitoring Requirements Invalid October 2008

District Court Requires EPA to Choose a Reasonable Timeframe in Which to Make Decisions on Title V Permits July 2007

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Exceeds Its Authority in Approving Revisions to State Implementation Plans in Washington D.C. Area September 2002

District Court Imposes Penalty for Beneficial Mitigation Project and Attorney’s Fees for Clean Air Act Violation January 2010

Seventh Circuit Holds Clean Air Act Prevention of Significant Deterioration Permit Expired Due to Construction Delay December 2008

Eleventh Circuit Allows Startup, Shutdown, or Malfunction Defense to Citizen Enforcement Suit under the Clean Air Act May 2006

District Court Awards Reduced Attorney’s Fees for Partially Successful CERCLA Plaintiffs March 2010

Eleventh Circuit Finds EPA Acted within Its Discretion in Not Opposing a Title V Permit for Coal Fired Power Plants November 2008

District Court Holds Clean Air Act Does Not Authorize Citizen Suit against State for Failure to Enforce State Implementation Plan October 2009

Sierra Club Files Lawsuit to Challenge Los Angeles County’s Approval of a Spring Water Exporting Project March 2005

Inyo County Superior Court Finds LADWP Has More Work to Do in Restoring the Lower Owens River May 2007

Eleventh Circuit Finds that District Court Improperly Modified Consent Decree in Clean Water Act TMDL Case September 2002

District Court Finds U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Violation of Clean Air Act March 2005

Fourth District Upholds Environmental Impact Report Permitting Mission Creek Well Project to Continue November 2006

District Court Decides Clean Air Act Claims Were Barred by Statute of Limitations and Concurrent Remedy Doctrine June 2009

Sierra Club Files Suit Against Placer County Regarding Land Use Approvals for Private University Site February 2009

District Court Finds Oregon Electrical Generating Facility Must Comply with Federal and State Clean Air Permitting Requirements December 2009

Sierra Club Makes Oklahoma Pig Farm Squeal in CERCLA Ammonia-Emission Suit December 2004

Federal District Court in Florida Follows Up Its Prior Decision by Enjoining Some Corps Permitted Limestone Mining October 2007

Eleventh Circuit Holds that Alabama’s State Implementation Plan Had to Be Revisited to Permit State Agency’s Use of Clean Air Act’s Two-Percent De Minimus Rule January 2006

Eleventh Circuit Vacates Clean Water Act Permits, Finds District Court Improperly Acted as a Legislative Body July 2008

Third Circuit Holds Developer’s Filling of Wetlands Rendered Environmentalists’ Challenge to Fill Permit Prudentially Moot July 2008

Eleventh Circuit Affirms Clean Water Act Regional General Plan Allowing a Watershed Approach to Environmental Permitting February 2008

Eleventh Circuit Upholds Unprecedented Regional General CWA Permit to Allow Suburban Development in Northwest Florida January 2008

District Court Finds Environmental Groups Failed in Their Challenge of Corps Issued Permit to Fill in Wetlands at Meadowlands Sports Complex November 2006

D.C. Circuit Finds EPA’s Final Rule Sets Emission Standards Higher than CAA and Precedent Requires May 2007

Eleventh Circuit Remands EPA’s Issuance of a Title V Permit for Failure to Consider Applicant’s Compliance History at Other, Partially Owned Major Stationary Sources. July 2004

Ninth Circuit Vacates EPA Order and Instructs Agency to Reclassify Imperial County under Clean Air Act 1 December 2003

Seventh Circuit Denies U.S. EPA's Authority to Extend St. Louis Clean Air Act Attainment January 2003

D.C. Circuit Finds Environmental Groups Lack Standing to Challenge U.S. Environmental Protection Agency RCRA Rulemaking August 2002

Eleventh Circuit Delineates the Limits of EPA’s Discretion to Interpret Clean Air Act’s Title V Notice and Monitoring Requirements March 2006

D.C. Circuit Court Awards Fees to Catalysts in Clean Air Act Suit May 2003

Eleventh Circuit Holds Army Corps Abused Its Discretion in Granting CWA Permits for Limestone Mining within the Lake Belt Aquifer March 2010

Supreme Court of Iowa Affirms Enforcement of Settlement Agreement in Environmental Nuisance Case. February 2005

Third District Court of Appeal Holds that Environmental Impact Reports Not Necessary for Two Water Assignments to the City of Tracy June 2005

Fifth District Court Finds a Jury May Consider Historical Use of Building in Determining Its Fair Market Value April 2005

District Court Denies Summary Judgment under CERCLA where Elements of Both “Arranger” and “Successor” Liability Were Not Proven October 2004

California Supreme Court Provides Significant New Guidance Regarding Adequacy of Local Benefit Assessments October 2008

Sixth District Upholds Santa Clara County’s Post-Proposition 218 Open-Space Assessment District October 2005

The Endangered Species Act and Agency ‘Discretion’: The Courts and Agencies Take Different Directions June 2007

Colorado Supreme Court Upholds Aquifer Sustainability Rules Promulgated by State Engineer—Rules Did Not Impermissibly Restrict Right to Appropriate Water June 2008

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

District Court Affirms EPA Regulations that Allow Shooting Ranges to Operate without a Discharge Permit under RCRA because Bullets Are Not ‘Abandoned’ August 2005

Second Circuit Affirms District Court Decision Dismissing RCRA and Clean Water Act Claims against Shooting Range and Alleged Lead Contamination October 2009

District Court Finds Environmental Group Has Standing to Challenge Gun Club under the Clean Water Act for Alleged Discharges October 2006

Sewage Backup Caused by Town’s Negligence Held to Be Actionable Nuisance November 2008

Ninth Circuit Upholds Forest Service’s Interpretation of Mineral Management Standard and Guideline July 2009

Third District Holds Real Estate Contract Void Ab Initio Based on Waiver Provision that Violated the Subdivision Map Act March 2009

New Mexico Court Holds Mutual Use of Well under Well Share Agreement to be an Interest in Real Property as an Easement Appurtenant October 2009

The 75-Year Litigation over the Cushman Hydroelectric Project: Ninth Circuit Dismisses Skokomish Tribe’s Damages Claims against the United States and City of Tacoma May 2005

First District Holds Public Agency’s Ownership of Entire Drainage System Not Required for Property Owner to Proceed with Inverse Condemnation Claim against City October 2008

Oregon: State Court of Appeals Affirms Water Resources Department Decision Concerning Pending Land Use Approvals April 2001

Sixth Circuit Holds Injury to Property through Imperceptible Particles Basis for Diminution in Fair Market Value January 2008

New Mexico Supreme Court Affirms Home-Rule Municipality’s Authority to Regulate Domestic Wells within City Limits January 2008

Disabled Person Seeking to Enforce Rights under the Fair Housing Amendments Act Need Not Have an Interest in Purchasing or Renting Property for Standing to Sue April 2004

Idaho Power Company Sues to Enforce the Landmark Swan Falls Agreement July 2007

Idaho Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal in Tribal Reserved Water Rights Case July 2002

Snake River Basin Adjudication Court Rules that Irrigation Entities Have an Equitable Ownership Interest in Water Rights from U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Facilities October 2004

Tentative Settlement Reached in Soboba Indians' Lawsuit against Metropolitan Water District over 70 Years of Lost Water Supplies June 2003

Fourth Circuit Interprets U.S. Supreme Court Case on Isolated Wetlands under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act August/September 2003

First District Court Upholds County Order to Remove Recreational Club’s Long-Standing Illegal Structures October 2008

Pennsylvania Supreme Court finds Attorney Fees Shifting Permissible in Favor of Non-Prevailing Party in Action Challenging Clean Water Act Permit October 2007

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania Awards Attorney’s Fees under the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law. February 2005

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

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

The New World of State and Local Wetlands Regulation March 2005

Certiorari Filed for Third Time in U.S. Supreme Court in Clean Water Act Adjacent Wetlands Case March 2005

United States Supreme Court Narrows the Federal Government's Authority to Regulate Wetlands February 2001

Federal: United States Supreme Court Narrows the Federal Government's Authority to Regulate Wetlands February 2001

District Court: District Court Declines to Dismiss Landowner’s Cost Recovery Claim under CERCLA Section 107 May 2004

Fourth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Direct CERCLA Action Against Insurers Providing Financial Assurances Required by RCRA August 2004

U.S. Supreme Court Broadens Right to Intervene in Interstate Water Disputes Brought under the Court’s Original Jurisdiction May 2010

U.S. Supreme Court Adopts New Standard Allowing Non Sovereign Entities to Intervene in Action over Equitable Apportionment of River Water Between South Carolina and North Carolina March 2010

D.C. Circuit Vacates and Remands EPA’s Eight-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards February 2007

D.C. Circuit Holds EPA’s Decision to Promulgate Clean Air Act Tier 2 Standards In 2009 Rather Than in 2007 Was Not Unlawful April 2009

Eighth Circuit Holds Army Corps of Engineers Authorized to Release Water in Accordance with Flood Control Act and Master Manual July 2003

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

EPA Issues an Interpretation of the Clean Water Act that Exempts Water Transfers from NPDES Permitting Requirements October 2005

Environmental Groups Claim PG&E Is Required to Obtain NPDES Permit for Diverting Water from the Eel River to the Russian River in California January 2005

The Supreme Court Decision in Miccosukee: What Was Decided and the Practical Implications of What May Follow July 2004

U.S. Supreme Court Ducks Direct Decision on NPDES Requirements for Inter-Basin Water Transfers May 2004

Settlements Reached with Remaining Defendants in California’s South Lake Tahoe MTBE Lawsuit October 2002

Arizona Court of Appeals finds Water District’s Use of Underground Storage Facility Cannot Be Basis for Claim for Damages by Third-Party Landowner January 2009

Ninth Circuit Decides that Permitting Process for Fill Material under the Clean Water Act Must Comply with Performance Standard in Sections 301 and 306 July 2007

Ninth Circuit Announces Intention to Hold Permitting Process for Dredged or Fill Material Must Comply with Performance Standard of the Clean Water Act May 2007

D.C. Circuit Finds Water Supply Act Requires Corps to Obtain Congressional Approval for Major Operational Changes—Invalidates Water Supply Agreement April 2008

D.C. Circuit Invalidates Settlement Agreement in Tri-State Water Dispute; Alabama and Florida Declare Victory in Latest Battle March 2008

Court of Federal Claims Awards $77 Million for U.S. Government’s Delay in Disposing of Spent Nuclear Fuel October 2007

Federal District Court Invalidates Regional San Diego Habitat Conservation Plan December 2006

Ninth Circuit Breathes Life into ESA Section 7(d), Holding It Applies to Claims for Injunctive Relief Regarding Non-Jeopardizing Agency Action Taken after Initiation of Formal Consultation December 2002

News from the West March 2009

Court of Appeal Finds that a Water District Can Collect Unpaid Water Assessments from a Property Owner March 2006

Second District Upholds Denial of Conditional Use Permit Based on Negative Impact on General Community Welfare July 2009

District Court in Illinois Refuses to Dismiss Federal RCRA Action Despite Similar Pending State Court Proceedings January 2004

Fifth Circuit Affirms Finding of No Significant Impact under NEPA for Texas Gasoline Pipeline February 2004

Habitat Conservation Plans: A Case for “No Surprises” and the “Permit Revocation Rule May 2004

Motion to Clarify Court Order in Spirit of the Sage Council Litigation Filed; Opposition and Reply Briefs Filed as Well March 2004

D.C District Court Issues Decision Setting Aside the Department of the Interior’s “No Surprises Rule” on Procedural Grounds January 2004

D.C. District Court Grants Summary Judgment in “No Surprises” Conservation Planning Litigation—Fish and Wildlife Service Issues Related Memoranda December 2003

In Subdivision Map Act Case, 90-Day Deadline to Serve Summons Is Inflexible Statute of Limitations May 2003

Ninth Circuit Finds City Violated the Telecommunications Act when It Denied Application to Construct Wireless Facilities in Public Rights-Of-Way December 2009

Ninth Circuit Rules City Overstepped Its Authority to Deny Wireless Antenna Permits on Aesthetics Grounds March 2006

Ninth Circuit Finds San Diego County’s Wireless Telecommunications Ordinance Preempted by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 May 2007

Ninth Circuit Permits Squaw Valley Development to Proceed with Civil Rights Claims against Employees of the Regional Water Quality Control Board October 2004

Idaho: Supreme Court Finds No Federal Reserved Water Right for the Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge April 2001

Seventh Circuit Holds That No Further Remediation Letter Doesn’t Mean It’s Clean March 2005

EPA Approves St Johns River Site Specific Alternative Criteria for River Discharges—Suit against EPA to Block Florida Clean Water Act Rule Change Heats Up December 2006

First District Court Holds CEQA Lawsuit Does Permit Prevailing Party to Obtain Costs Associated with Reparation of Record Agreed to, but Prepared by, Opposing Party May 2008

New Jersey Appellate Court Finds Trial Court Erred in It’s Failure to Make Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in Environmental Action to Enjoin Alleged Stormwater Discharges into Adjacent Wetlands February 2007

Third Circuit Limits Applicability of New Source Performance Standard Subpart J (Standards of Performance for Petroleum Refineries) to Facilities in Petroleum Refineries February 2001

Ninth Circuit Holds that Nevada State Court Retains Jurisdiction over Water Rights Decree It Has Entered Pursuant to State Law January 2004

Nevada: Federal Court Vacates Previous Decision To Excercise Jurisdiction over Enforcement Proceeding Involving Water Rights Adjudicated under Nevada’s Statutory Water Law January 2001

Wisconsin Appeals Court Determines that Insurance Policy’s Exclusion of Damages ‘Arising out of’ Oil Spill Applies to Damages Caused by Bad Smell of Oil May 2005

Eleventh Circuit Refuses to Enjoin U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from Taking Steps to Finalize Lake Lanier Water Supply Contracts January 2006

Ninth Circuit Upholds EPA's Orders Invalidating Prevention of Significant Deterioration Permit Issued by State Agency September 2002

News from the West August 2010

District Court Holds Review of State Response Limited to Administrative Record under CERCLA. July 2004

News from the West June 2009

Fourth District Court Decides that Disputed Factual Issue Remains for Insurance Coverage under “Sudden And Accidental” Exception to Pollution Exclusion Clause February 2007

City of Los Angeles Settles a Six-Year Sewage Spill Suit October 2004

District Court Dismisses California’s Global Warming Nuisance Claims against Automakers November 2007

Lawsuits Challenge New ESA Section 7 Consultation Requirements March 2009

Suspension of Oil Leases Off California's Coast Subject to Review under the State's Coastal Zone Management Act - United States Failed to Comply with the National Environmental Policy Act February 2003

Ninth Circuit Affirms Order Permanently Enjoining Implementation of U.S. Forest Service’s State Petitions Rule October 2009

California Sues EPA for Permission to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Motor Vehicles February 2008

California’s Governor and Attorney General Sue EPA for Delaying Action on Requested Waiver of Preemption Regarding Vehicle Emission Standards December 2007

Tenth Circuit Allows State Of Colorado’s Late Cost Recovery Claim November 2003

New York District Court Says Global Warming Is a Non-Justiciable Political Question November 2005

States and Environmental Groups Allege Global Warming as a Public Nuisance in Suits against Power Companies. September 2004

Second Circuit’s Reversal in American Electric Power Allows Common Law Climate Change Litigation to Proceed November 2009

Impact of Massachusetts v. EPA Briefed in Global Warming Appeal October 2007

U.S. Supreme Court to Review Impact of Congressional Acknowledgment of Overthrow of Kingdom of Hawaii on Island Land Ownership— Amicus Briefs Filed February 2009

Maine May Regulate Discharges Pursuant to the Clean Water Act on Tribal Lands October 2007

Maryland Sues to Stop Coal Ash Pollution of Ground and Surface Waters May 2010

Seventh Circuit Holds Michigan Lacks Standing to Challenge Clean Air Act Reclassification of Tribal Lands November 2009

Eastern Water Disputes Heat Up—Two Important Cases Land on U.S. Supreme Court’s Docket November 2009

Supreme Court of New Hampshire Holds that Required Disposal of Hazardous Waste Does Not Qualify as a Subsequent Remedial Measure under Rules of Evidence January 2006

Riparian Rights Confirmed in 1905 Compact Does Not Preclude Delaware from Rejecting New Jersey Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal along and into Delaware River May 2008

D.C. Circuit Invalidates Two Final EPA Rules Relating to Emissions of Air Pollutants from Electric Utility Steam Generating Units April 2008

Inroads on Western Prior Appropriation Water Law: New Mexico Eliminates Pueblo Water Rights Doctrine May 2004

New Mexico Court Concludes Determination of United States' Interests Does Not Require Extending the Geographic Boundary of Adjudication to Headwaters July 2003

United States Attempts to Include Reservoir Storage and Upper Basin Water Users in Lower Rio Grande Adjudication by Requesting an Order Directing the State of New Mexico Amend Its Adjudication Complaint. January 2003

Lower Rio Grande Adjudication Update: Various Parties and State Engineer Reach Settlement Regarding State Engineer’s First Amended Metering Order March 2007

Proposed Settlement Agreement Reached in the West’s Longest Running Adjudication April 2006

District Court Rejects New Mexico’s Request for Order Enjoining Pojoaque Pueblo from Using Water for Second Ten-Hole Golf Course and Resort Hotel August 2003

Federal/New Mexico: Federal Court Ruling Sets Forth Parameters on Rio Pojoaque Pueblos' Water Rights in Northern New Mexico April 2001

News from the West: The Struggle of State Versus Federal Control over Water Resources January 2006

CERCLA’s NRD Scheme Preempts State Remedy Designed to Achieve Something Other than the Restoration, Replacement, or Acquisition of the Equivalent of a Contaminated Natural Resource. December 2006

Bankruptcy Stay Does Not Prevent Entry of Order Compelling $100 Million Clean Air Act Obligations December 2003

D.C. Circuit Vacates EPA’s Equipment Replacement Amendment to the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review Routine Maintenance, Repair and Replacement Exemption May 2006

Southern District of Ohio Revisits PSD Statute of Limitations Holding; Allows for Possibility that Injunctive Relief Could Be Barred or Limited June 2006

New York Court Limits Daily Civil Penalties to Period within Statute of Limitations June 2002

Second Circuit Affirms Default Judgment Entered in CERCLA Case as a Result of Defendant’s Failure to Timely Appear October 2005

Bank Settles Suit Alleging CERCLA Operator Liability July 2007

New York Appellate Court Rules on Cost Recovery Action Regarding Leaking Underground Storage Tanks July 2005

District Court Upholds CERCLA's Rarely Successful "Useful Product" Defense November 2002

Second Circuit Upholds Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Ruling Finding Low Fire Risk for Spent Fuel Storage February 2010

District Court Holds Emissions from TVA’s Coal-Fired Plants in Alabama and Tennessee Are a Public Nuisance to North Carolina March 2009

Fourth Circuit Finds North Carolina’s Common-Law Nuisance Suit Can Proceed against Tennessee Valley Authority for Air Pollution Emissions April 2008

District Court Upholds EPA’s Rulemaking Regarding Georgia’s CAA Compliance Thereby Denying North Carolina’s Petition for Redressability February 2010

D.C. Circuit Reinstates the U.S. EPA Rule to Reduce Air Pollution February 2009

Eighth Circuit Finds Army Corps Has Clean Water Act Immunity from Action Seeking Injunctive Relief for a Discharge of Water from a Lake into a River October 2005

District Court Finds that Poultry Litter Is Not a ‘Solid Waste’ under the Resource, Conservation and Recovery Act April 2010

District Court Dismisses Oklahoma’s Claims against Poultry Companies for Poultry Waste Because of Failure to Join the Cherokee Nation October 2009

Tenth Circuit Affirms District Court’s Determination of Insufficient Link between ‘Poultry Litter’ and Alleged Contamination of Illinois River Watershed July 2009

Eastern Water Disputes Heat Up—Two Important Cases Land on U.S. Supreme Court’s Docket November 2009

South Carolina Takes Controversy over Inter-Basin Water Transfer in North Carolina to U.S. Supreme Court October 2007

News from the West July 2010

Ninth Circuit Affirms Washington State’s Authority over Mixed Hazardous and Radioactive Waste Buried at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation May 2009

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

News from the West February 2009

In the Wake of Fish and Game Commission’s Adoption of Longfin Smelt Emergency Regulations, Water Contractors File December Lawsuits January 2009

Freeport Regional Water Project Dispute Resolved March 2004

Sacramento Superior Court Affirms CEQA Review for East Bay Municipal Utility District’s Amendatory CVP Contract October 2002

State Water Contractors Challenge Department of Fish and Game’s Longfin Smelt Take Permit for State Water Project May 2009

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

The Asian Carp Saga Continues—With the U.S. Army Corps at the Center of the Battle, the U.S. Supreme Court Denies a Second Application to Close the Chicago Area Waterways System April 2010

Michigan and Other States Sue Illinois in the U.S. Supreme Court to Stop Asian Carp February 2010

Fourth District Court Finds Real Property Acquired by Regional Park District ‘Actually Dedicated’ for Park Purposes by Operation of Law When Acquired January 2008

District Court Finds Mandatory Contractual Provisions Requiring the Burning of Hazardous Waste Is¨Not Evidence that the U.S. Was an ‘Operator’ under CERCLA January 2010

Fourth District Finds Expedited First Amendment- Related Permit Statute, and Its 21-Day Statute of Limitations Does Not Bar Third Party Litigants March 2009

Sixth Circuit Affirms EPCRA Civil Penalty for Failure to Submit Required Form "Rs" January 2002

Connecticut Supreme Court Denies Landowner Right to Install Dock Pursuant to Water Easement July 2007

Ninth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment for Defendants in Case Alleging Over-Abundance of Phosphorous in Lake September 2005

New Mexico Court of Appeals Affirms District Court Recognition of Municipal Authority to Prohibit Drilling of Domestic Wells Permitted by State Engineer January 2006

District Court Finds Broad Standing for Clean Water Act Citizen Suit Claims, Imposes Exacting Jurisdictional Notice Requirement December 2009

Pacific Legal Foundation Files Suit Challenging California Coastal Commission’s Permit Requirement of Agricltural Easement June 2009

Pacific Legal Foundation Files Constitutional Challenge to Delta Smelt Pumping Restrictions a Day Before a Hearing in Another Action by Water Users on Water Restrictions July 2009

Supreme Court Holds CEQA Challenge Time-Barred where Agency Filed Notice of Exemption, Whether or Not Exemption Properly Applied May 2010

San Joaquin Water Districts Lose ‘Takings’ Suit Alleging Federal Government Must Compensate Them for Their Water April 2007

David Wins a Battle with Goliath—Federal Circuit Holds U.S. Failed to Prove Excuse for Non-Performance of Central Valley Project Water Supply Contracts November 2009

Grant of Variance to Non-Conforming Use Held Improper Where There Was Insufficient Evidence to Support a Finding that Current Zoning Would Produce Undue Hardship March 2004

Sacramento Superior Court Issues Writ to Set Aside Approval of Delta Shores Project for Failure to Adequately Analyze Health Risks April 2010

Second District Court Rules Court Cannot Hear Landowner’s Challenge to Proposed Zoning Changes until Changes Are Enacted December 2008

U.S. Supreme Court Holds Beachfront Property Owners Are Not Entitled to Restored Beaches, Leaving Question of ‘Judicial Takings’ Unresolved August 2010

The U.S. Supreme Court Addresses Judicial Taking of Property Rights August 2010

U.S. Supreme Court Treads into the Realm of ‘Judicial Takings’—Holds Beachfront Property Owners Are Not Entitled to Restored Beaches, Leaving the Primary Issue Unresolved August 2010

Wisconsin Court of Appeal Upholds Extensive Site Assessment after Removal of Unused USTs. May 2002

Tenth Circuit Clarifies Private Party’s Right to Develop Hydro-Power on Reclamation Project Facilities and the Bureau’s Role in,Change Applications October 2009

News from the West June 2006

District Court Addresses Federal Ownership and Control of Reclamation Project Water April 2006

Utah Supreme Court Addresses Federal/State Jurisdictional Issues, Offers Clarification on Who May File Change Applications, and Offers Views on the Right to Recapture Return Flows from Imported Water November 2005

Fourth District Rules CEQA 30-Day Statute of Limitations Applies to Agency Action Taken Pursuant to a Certified Regulatory Program June 2009

District Court Finds Prisoners May Not Pursue Federal Class Action against U.S. Officials for Exposure to Contaminated Water—May Pursue Limited Claims against State Defendants January 2006

District Court Dismisses RCRA Claim Related to Pre-Enactement Activities July 2010

U.S. Supreme Court Revisits Constitutional Standing—Requires a ‘Concrete and Particularized’ Personal Stake in the Case or Controversy May 2009

U.S. Supreme Court Revisits Constitutional Standing—Requires a ‘Concrete and Particularized’ Personal Stake in the Case or Controversy April 2009

Utah's Summit County's Landmark Water Concurrency Ordinance Struck Down as Unconstitutional for Denying Due Process June 2002

California Appellate Court Finds that Federal Pesticide Statute Does Not Preempt State Common Law Claims for Breach of Warranty and Negligence March 2002

North Carolina Court of Appeal Upholds Partial Grant of Summary Judgment against Purchaser of Properties Containing Wetlands June 2009

California Supreme Court Holds County’s Decision to Deny Application to Renew Conditional Use Permit for a Privately Owned Airport Was Not a ‘Project’ under CEQA February 2010

Third District Court Holds Sacramento County Decision to Close Airport Not Preempted by State Law but Is a ‘Project’ Subject to CEQA Review August 2008

Environmental Groups Challenge Approval of Coastal Development Permit for Desalination Facility in Carlsbad March 2008

San Diego Superior Court Decision Paves Way for Construction of Carlsbad Desalination Project July 2009

New Jersey DEP Not Required to Promulgate Rules before Enforcing Them against Permittees Regarding Phosphorus Discharges into State Waters August 2007

Second District Affirms that Transportation Funding Plan Listing Potential Projects Was Not a Project Subject to CEQA January 2010

aaa April 2008

San Diego Water Districts Sue Power Providers over Unreasonable Electricity Costs March 2001

District Court Holds Asbestos Building Materials, Left Intact within the Structure, Do Not Constitute Disposed Materials under CERCLA or Solid Waste under RCRA June 2007

Seventh Circuit Holds Sale of Property with Asbestos-Containing Fixtures Does Not Trigger CERCLA or RCRA Liability December 2008

Second Circuit Holds Claims against the Federal Government Relating to Military Contamination Were Time-Barred and Sought Improper Response Costs July 2005