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Two Idaho Homeowners Finally Clarify Scope of Clean Water Act

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court curtailed the federal government’s powers to regulate private property under the auspices of the Clean Water Act (CWA).  The Court in Sackett v. EPA held that “the CWA extends to only those “wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are ‘waters of the United States’ in their […]

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JH
Associate

Ninth Circuit Wetlands Ruling Muddies the Waters for Development Nationwide

by John W. Andrews On Thursday, May 28, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declined to stay on appeal a lower court ruling which has already had a nationwide impact on permitting of oil and gas pipelines that cross streams and wetlands.  The underlying dispute arose from the long-standing controversy over […]

Colorado Oil and Gas Operators Breathe Sigh of Relief

by Frances Folin Yesterday, the Colorado Supreme Court handed down its much-anticipated decision in the COGCC v. Martinez case (2019 CO 3).  To the relief of oil and gas companies operating in Colorado, the Colorado Supreme Court found in favor of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and overturned a hotly-contested Colorado Court of […]

FF
Former Associate

Utah Supreme Court Clarifies Administrative Agencies’ Fact Finding Duty and the Standard of Review for Administrative Appeals

By: Graham Gilbert In McElhaney v. City of Moab, 2017 UT 65, —- P.3d —-, the Utah Supreme Court held that an adjudicative land use decision, and likely all administrative decisions subject to substantial evidence review on appeal, must include findings of fact sufficient to permit meaningful appellate review.  In McElhaney, the owners of a […]

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GG
Former Counsel

Local Drone Law Preempted

by Patrick J. Paul On September 21, 2017, in what is believed to be the first federal court ruling on the issue of local drone regulation, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Singer v. City of Newton, overturned a 2016 ordinance passed by the Newton, MA, City Council regulating pilotless aircraft […]

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California Supreme Court Invalidates EIR for Coastal Mixed-Use Development

by Richard J. McNeil The California Supreme Court’s recent decision in Banning Ranch Conservancy v. City of Newport Beach, ___ Cal. 4th ___ (2017) (Case No. S227473, Mar. 30, 2017) serves as a cautionary reminder that–as stated by the Court (citing Laurel Heights Improvement Association v. Regents of University of California, 47 Cal. 3d 376, […]

RM
Former Partner

Disposal of Contamination = Disposal of Evidence. Be Careful What You Throw Away!

by Mitchell J. Klein In a recent unpublished case, the Superior Court of New Jersey held that the Plaintiff in a CERCLA case had committed spoliation when, during the course of the remedial activity, it disposed of various contaminated materials. See Pollitt Drive, LLC v. Harvey Engel. While the case does not establish any precedent, […]

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MK

In a Victory for Businesses and Developers, the United States Supreme Court Holds that Clean Water Act Jurisdictional Determinations Are Appealable

by Chris Colyer The United States Supreme Court ruled today that an approved jurisdictional determination under the Clean Water Act constitutes an immediately appealable agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 500 et seq. This decision, United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., Inc., rejects the United States Army Corps […]

CC

Does a Project’s Impact on the “Character of the Community” Need to Be Evaluated under CEQA?

by Sean M. Sherlock Harry Rogers owned and operated a horse boarding facility called the Stock Farm, in the City of Poway, California – a city that proudly calls itself the “City in the Country.”  Rogers wanted to shut down the Stock Farm and subdivide his land into residential lots.  Not surprisingly, some of the […]

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It’s the Effect of the Project on the Environment – Not the Effect of the Environment on the Project

by Sean Sherlock The California Supreme Court has resolved a longstanding uncertainty regarding the scope of environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). In 1995, a California Court of Appeal held that CEQA requires a lead agency to evaluate the effect of a project on the environment, but not the effect of the […]