On remand from the California Supreme Court, the First Appellate District has issued its second ruling in California Building Industry Assn. v. Bay Area Air Quality Management District. In this case, CBIA challenged BAAQMD’s 2010 “CEQA Air Quality Guidelines”—specifically, the Guidelines’ thresholds and methods for assessing the effects of siting new sensitive receptors (residences) near existing sources of toxic air contaminants and other harmful air emissions, such as freeways. Last year, the California Supreme Court held that CEQA “does not generally require an agency to consider the effects of existing environmental conditions on a proposed project’s future users or residents” (so-called ‘CEQA-in-Reverse’). Requiring analysis of the existing environment’s effects on a project, the Supreme Court emphasized, would “impermissibly expand the scope of CEQA.” The Supreme Court remanded the case to the First District Court of Appeal to apply its general ruling to the specific aspects of the BAAQMD Guidelines still in dispute.
The Rose Foundation Releases Report on CEQA Economic Impact
CEQA has been in effect since 1970, when it was signed into law by Governor Ronald Regan. Over the past 46 years, there have been many debates about the effect CEQA has on the California economy. In response to recent analyses that link CEQA to economic challenges in the State, the Rose Foundation for Communities
White House Council on Environmental Quality Issues Final Guidance on Consideration of Climate Change in NEPA Review
Guest author Darrin Gambelin, a Downey Brand associate, contributes today’s post.
On August 1, The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued its Final Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Effects of Climate Change in National Environmental Policy Act Reviews (Guidance), which provides federal agencies with a framework for analysis of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change in connection with environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This is a significant step in the developing law of climate impact analysis, as state and federal agencies alike continue to struggle to measure, analyze, and mitigate for localized, incremental contributions to this global problem.
The Guidance advises federal agencies to examine both the effects of the proposed project on climate change and the effects of climate change on the project. The guidance does not apply retroactively to projects with a completed NEPA review, but CEQ encourages agencies to adopt these procedures for projects currently under review. As guidance, the policies within are not binding, but in practice agencies generally defer to CEQ; so, applicants can expect federal agencies to apply the new policies to projects moving forward.
IN UNPUBLISHED OPINION, COURT OF APPEAL UPHOLDS CEQA REVIEW FOR FRESNO’S FULTON MALL PROJECT
The City of Fresno’s Fulton Street lies in the heart of its downtown and was once a bustling commerce center lined with numerous retailers. Suburbanization drew those retailers to the periphery of town in the 1950s. In the early 1960s, in an attempt to revive its urban core, the City turned Fulton Street into Fulton
Appellate District Rejects ‘Discovery Rule’ in CEQA Cases and Holds Challenge to Richmond Crude-By-Rail Facility Untimely Under 180-day Statute of Limitations
On July 19, the First District Court of Appeal published its opinion in Communities for a Better Environment v. Bay Area Air Quality Management District. In this case, Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) and a host of other environmental groups sought to challenge a rail-to-truck facility for the transloading of crude oil permitted by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD). The appeals court affirmed the trial court’s ruling that CBE’s petition was time barred under Section 21167(d) of the Public Resources Code for failure to bring the claim within 180 days of BAAQMD’s approval of an Authority to Construct (ATC) that authorized the transloading of Bakken crude. In doing so, both courts rejected the argument by CBE that the “discovery rule” should apply in CEQA cases where, as here, there is no public notice of the approval.
COURT OF APPEAL EXTENDS CEQA HOLDING ON RECORD PREPARATION LABOR COSTS TO OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD CASES
After successfully defending a challenge to a resolution granting nonconforming use status to a mining operation in Santa Clara County, Respondent’s attorney filed a motion to recover costs associated with the preparation of the administrative record. This included the labor costs for the attorneys and paralegals who had assisted with the preparation of the large
NINTH CIRCUIT REJECTS NEPA CHALLENGE TO THE JAMUL INDIAN VILLAGE CASINO PROJECT
In Jamul Action Committee v. Chaudhuri, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 13104, the Ninth Circuit held that the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) did not apply to the Jamul Indian Village Casino project in Jamul, California due to an irreconcilable timing conflict between NEPA and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
The Jamul Indian Village (Tribe),
Appellate Court Rejects Urban Decay Claim Based on Lay Witness Opinion, Upholds Mitigated Negative Declaration
When cities and counties conduct CEQA review of a large-scale commercial development project including a major national chain like Wal-Mart or Costco, a common objection is that the project will displace existing, locally owned retail establishments, resulting in a significant impact on the environment, in the form of urban decay (or “blight”). This is generally understood to involve abandoned buildings or shopping centers physically deteriorating and becoming a magnet for graffiti, gang/drug activity, and illegal dumping. This claim is often brought in CEQA litigation resulting from approval of such retail projects.
Recently, Division Two of the Fourth Appellate District issued its decision in Joshua Tree Downtown Business Alliance v. County of San Bernardino (June 15, 2016; certified for partial publication on July 13, 2016), upholding a mitigated negative declaration and addressing a key issue for lead agencies and courts evaluating an urban decay claim: when do the comments or testimony of a lay witness constitute substantial evidence of an urban decay impact? The appellate court also rejected a claim of general plan inconsistency, affirming the broad discretion that local governments enjoy in interpreting their general plans.
FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT HAS JURISDICTION OVER CORPS’ CEASE AND DESIST LETTER WHEN CONSTITUTIONAL CLAIMS ARE RAISED
In Duarte Nursery, Inc. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76037, the Eastern District of California granted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (“Corps”) motion for summary judgment, finding that Duarte Nursery (“Nursery”) had violated the federal Clean Water Act (“Act”) by moving dirt around its property as part
IN CENTRAL VALLEY SHOWDOWN OVER ANNEXATION, THE CITY OF KINGSBURG REIGNS (MOSTLY) SUPREME
In 2012, the City of Kingsburg began the process of annexing approximately 430 acres of land in Fresno County, including developed land that was home to three major facilities: a glass manufacturing plant, a grape processing facility, and a raisin processing plant. The land proposed for annexation separates the City of Kingsburg from the City