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About Us:
Welcome to the S&W Environmental, Natural Resources, Oil and Gas Law Blog. This blog is a resource for the regulated community to stay current on new developments impacting the environmental, natural resources and energy sectors. It provides timely updates on a broad range of federal, state and local environmental topics — including proposed legislation and government rulemakings — that impact regulated industries throughout the southwest and the nation as a whole.
Topics
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Recent Posts
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 … Continue reading
Tagged 404 Permits, nationwide permits, NWP 12, oil and gas, Waters of the United States
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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 … Continue reading
Tagged COGCC v. Martinez, Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Colorado Supreme Court, rulemaking
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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 … Continue reading
Tagged Administrative Law, Conditional Use Permit, Land Use, Standard of Review
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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 … Continue reading
Tagged drones, FAA, Singer v. City of Newton, UAS, unmanned aircraft systems
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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 … Continue reading
Tagged Banning Ranch, CEQA, Coastal Act, EIR, environmentally sensitive habitat areas, ESHA, Newport Beach
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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. … Continue reading
Tagged CERCLA, cleanup, evidence, preservation of evidence, remediation, spoliation
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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 … Continue reading
Tagged APA, approved jurisdictional determination, clean water act, EPA, Waters of the United States
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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 … Continue reading
Tagged CEQA
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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 … Continue reading
California Water Law Update
By Katherine A. McKitterick and Sean M. Sherlock To address the worsening drought, on April 1, 2015, Governor Brown issued Executive Order B-29-15 (“Executive Order”), mandating a 25% reduction in potable urban water consumption. In response, the State Water Resources … Continue reading
Tagged California, conservation, drought, Proposition 218, state water resources control board, tiered rate, water
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