In Protect Tustin Ranch v. City of Tustin (G059709), an unpublished opinion, the Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld the use of CEQA’s infill exemption to approve a Conditional Use Permit (“CUP”) for the demolition of a structure and constru… Read More

On October 5, 2021, the State Water Resources Control Board (“State Board”) adopted statewide requirements for dischargers, known as the “Toxicity Provisions,” which insert a uniform set of effluent limitations into each region’s basin plan… Read More

Los Angeles Dept. of Water & Power v. County of Inyo 2021 Cal. App. LEXIS 676 Section 15301 of CEQA’s Guidelines categorically exempts, among other things, ongoing operations at “existing facilities.” A new decision from the Fifth Appellate… Read More

As most California mine operators are aware, Cal/OSHA maintains a “Mining and Tunneling Division” that duplicates the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration’s safety oversight over mining operations. And, just like MSHA, Cal/OSHA Mining… Read More

The First District Court of Appeal recently held that the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) does not prevent responsible agencies from imposing mitigation requirements that are more stringent than those identified in a certified Envir… Read More

The Sacramento County Superior Court recently invalidated state regulations that were designed to create new permitting requirements for dredge and fill activities in wetlands that lost federal protections under the Clean Water Act following United S… Read More

On January 14, 2021, the United States Department of Labor published a final rule in the Federal Register that increases the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (“MSHA”) civil monetary penalties. As is required every year, the civil penalti… Read More

On July 27, 2020, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division announced that the federal government will not, as a general policy, seek civil penalties in Clean Water Act (… Read More