RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS

May 2004

To read this entire item of approximately 1100 words online now in PDF format: Click here to read this item if you are an existing subscriber to this publication. Click here to purchase the full text of this item to read now (price: $25). To subscribe to this publication and immediately access all its archives including this item, select the relevant publication under 'Catalogue' in the left-hand column PLEASE NOTE: to read PDFs on www.argento.com you must be using Version 5 of Acrobat Reader or Adobe Reader. If you have an earlier version you can download the latest free of charge by clicking here

California Department of Forestry Approval of Timber Harvest Plan Did Not Preclude the SWRCB from Separately Requiring Water Quality Protection Measures
Pacific Lumber Company v. California State Water Resources Control Board

On March 18, 2004, the California Court of Appeal, First District, issued an order in favor of the California Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) holding that the SWRCB could not be prohibited from enforcing water quality protection measures against a timber company. In so holding, the court rejected arguments by the Pacific Lumber Company that the Forest Practice Act established an exclusive regulatory framework over logging activities and that the SWRCB should be estopped from independently requiring water quality monitoring because it failed to appeal a California Department of Forestry decision relating to the same.