In a showing of solidarity with the First District Court of Appeal in its recent ruling in the Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley (2012) 203 Cal.App.4th 656 case (currently pending review by the Supreme Court), the Third District Court of Appeal slapped the hand of the El Dorado Irrigation District (EID) for increasing…

In Association of Irritated Residents v. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2012) 686 F.3d 668, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final decision with regard to California’s Revised State Implementation Plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act (Act) arbitrary and capricious. The court therefore granted the petition and remanded…

In Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association v. Rebecca M. Blank (2012) 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 18974, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the National Marine Fisheries Service (Service) complied with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when it adopted changes to the Pacific…

In Caleen Sisk Franco v. United States Department of the Interior (2012) 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105316, Plaintiffs challenged the U.S. Forest Service’s (Service) conduct on various religious and cultural sites around the McCloud River.  The Service responded with a motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ complaint.  The District Court for the Eastern District of California granted…

In Grand Canyon Trust v. United States Bureau of Reclamation (2012) 2012 U.S. App LEXIS 16859, the Grand Canyon Trust (Trust) charged the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) with violating several federal environmental laws in the operation of the Glen Canyon Dam. The District Court granted summary…

On August 16, 2012, the Sacramento City Planning Commission unanimously approved the Progressive Insurance project located on 5.6 acre Office Zoned (OB) parcel within the Arden Arcade Community Plan area. The project will bring a 21,119 square foot regional insurance claims office to Sacramento and will provide new employment opportunities in the City. A second…

On August 13, 2012, Placer County Superior Court visiting Judge, Leslie C. Nichols, upheld the Placer County Board of Supervisors’ approval of an EIR for a continuing care retirement community, a commercial center, and a loop trail to be built on an infill site in Northern Placer County, within the Auburn Bowman Community Plan. Petitioners…

On August 8, 2012, the California Supreme Court unanimously granted review of Neighbors for Smart Rail v. Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority ((2012) 205 Cal. App. 4th 552). (See our blog entry (Smart Rail) entitled “Court Disagrees with Sunnyvale and Madera Decisions and Holds that use of Projected Future Conditions as a Baseline…

On August 6, 2012, the Kings County Planning Commission approved the SunPower Henrietta Solar Project Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration and Conditional Use Permit (Project) by a unanimous vote of Commissioners present and voting.  The Project proposes to construct and operate an estimated 136-megawatt alternating current photovoltaic electricity generating facility and associated infrastructure on approximately 836…

In California Communities Against Toxics v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, (2012) 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 15428, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) approval of a revision to the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) without vacatur in order to permit a power plant to be constructed – but…