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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.
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Recent Posts
- Mining Industry on the Losing End of Two Clean Water Act Cases
- New PFAS/PFOS Regulations May Reopen Sites
- EPA’s Clean Power Plan Struck Down by SCOTUS
- As Colorado River Conditions Continue to Deteriorate, the United States Warns that More Cuts will be Required and the Basin States Consider Options
- New Bureau of Land Management Guidance on Geologic Carbon Sequestration on Federal Public Lands Answers Some Questions, But Uncertainty Remains for Split-Estate Lands
In California the Housing Crisis Yields to Luxury Spas
by Sean M. Sherlock A recent court of appeal opinion out of San Diego demonstrates how the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) has once again been used to impede housing development—this time to the benefit of a high-end luxury spa. … Continue reading
Tagged CEQA, Golden Door, San Diego
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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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My Project Changed—Is My EIR Still Valid: A New California Supreme Court Case Provides Guidance
by Mark D. Johnson Change is inevitable. Many times between project approval and project construction fluctuations in market conditions, financing terms or other factors mandate project changes. Do the changes require a further or modified California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) … Continue reading
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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How to avoid CEQA environmental review by ballot initiative
by Sean M. Sherlock The World Logistics Center is a massive project – 41 million square feet of logistics facilities located on 2,300 acres in Moreno Valley, California. The project has undergone environmental review for years, culminating in an Environmental … Continue reading
Tagged ballot initiative process, CEQA, environmenal impact report, environmenal review, moreno valley, tuolumne jobs, world logistics center
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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
New CEQA Cases Approve of Flexibility in Determining Environmental Baseline
by Sean M. Sherlock The California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) requires agencies to evaluate whether projects they are performing or permitting will have a significant effect on the environment. But significant compared to what? In evaluating a project’s impact on … Continue reading
Project Built at Variance With EIR Subject to Late CEQA Lawsuit
By: Sean M. Sherlock Ordinarily the threat of a lawsuit under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) passes once the statute of limitation expires – in most cases 30 days after the filing of a Notice of Determination. But a … Continue reading
Tagged addendum, CEQA, NOD, notice of determination, statute of limitation, supplement
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CEQA Lawsuit to Enforce Climate Change Mitigation Measure Prevails
By: Katherine A. McKitterick and Sean M. Sherlock On October 29, 2014 the California Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court’s judgment enforcing a mitigation measure adopted by a county in its program environmental impact report (PEIR). As of … Continue reading
Tagged CEQA, climate change, Mitigation Measures
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Legislature Expands CEQA to Require Tribal Consultation
By Sean M. Sherlock and Brian Daluiso On September 25, 2014, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., signed Assembly Bill No. 52 (“AB 52”) into law. The new law expands the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) to provide that any public … Continue reading
Tagged CEQA, Consultation, Native American, Tribal Resources
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