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.
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 recent Court of Appeal decision illustrates how a project may remain subject to CEQA litigation […]
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 As of the date of this blog post, this case is unpublished. Therefore, this case does not […]
By: Sean M. Sherlock On October 23, 2014, the California Court of Appeal invalidated a coastal development permit condition requiring a property owner to dedicate an easement for public access across her property. The case relied in part on U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the Nollan and Dolan cases, but was primarily based upon the […]
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 or private “project with an effect that may cause a substantial adverse change in the […]
By Sean M. Sherlock and Brian A. Daluiso The North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians (“North Fork Tribe”) is a federally recognized Indian tribe that wants to develop a casino near the City of Madera, approximately 40 miles from the tribe’s existing Rancheria. To do this, the North Fork Tribe needs the U.S. Secretary of […]
by Sean M. Sherlock and Katherine McKitterick As the California drought continues, the state’s need for a solution intensifies. Last month Governor Brown signed into law a series of bills creating a new regulatory program for groundwater extraction. In November, the electorate will vote on Proposition 1, a $7.5 billion bond issuance for state water […]
by Sean M. Sherlock Note: The California Supreme Court granted review in this case on December 10, 2014. As such, the case is not citable precedent, and may be reversed in whole or part. In a new case out of San Diego County, the California Court of Appeal has held that, by proceeding with development of […]
by Rick McNeil and Colin Higgins Respondent the County of Fresno authorized the development of an approximately 1,000 acre master planned retirement community in an area zoned agricultural in north-central Fresno County. The project was challenged as being inconsistent with the general plan and the project’s EIR was challenged as providing insufficient detail regarding the […]
by Rick McNeil and Colin Higgins In Citizens For A Green San Mateo, plaintiff (environment group) challenged the removal of more than 200 trees as part of upgrades to the College of San Mateo campus (“CSM”). Plaintiff filed a petition for writ of mandate, alleging that the tree removal was outside the scope of an […]
During the last couple of legislative sessions, union interests have been working with California legislators to pass a bill that would enable employees to record liens against their employers’ real property, as well as against the real property where their work was performed. The current bill – Assembly Bill 2416 – has momentum. It has […]
