Region: California
Ninth Circuit Rejects Commerce Clause Challenge to ESA
Aligning itself with four other federal circuits that have addressed the question, the Ninth Circuit has ruled that application of the Endangered Species Act to California’s imperiled Delta Smelt doesn’t violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority v. Salazar (http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2011/03/25/10-15192.pdf ) is the latest chapter in the long-running …
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CONTINUE READINGThe recent court decision blocking California’s scoping plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: One-stop shopping for recent Legal Planet commentary
Several of the bloggers on Legal Planet have been commenting extensively on the recent California court decision that will block the California Air Resources Board from moving forward with its AB 32 Scoping Plan and related regulations. I’ve provided links below to a series of our posts on this decision. The court, ruling on a …
CONTINUE READINGMight recent events allow Governor Brown to consider a new direction for AB 32 implementation?
My colleague Jonathan Zasloff suggests that environmental justice groups are using litigation to try to get leverage for some sort of compensation or other measures, rather than to actually stop the state’s cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gases. I doubt that. But what I do wonder — with no evidence, but I can speculate wildly on …
CONTINUE READINGCan the Air Resources Board continue to implement measures to reduce greenhouse gases?
One interesting feature of the court decision preventing the state from moving forward with AB 32 is that the court’s decision seems to halt implementation of the entire scoping plan. As I’ll explain, this is an odd result, and one that may be legally required but doesn’t make practical sense. The legal flaw the court …
CONTINUE READINGName That CEQA Plaintiff!
The recent environmental justice lawsuit on AB 32 carried with it a typical CEQA characteristic: the plaintiff is a community organization formed for the purpose of a lawsuit whose name is usually a play on the issue. Thus, this case was Association of Irritated Residents v. CARB: “AIR,” get it? Cute. But not even close …
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CONTINUE READINGTwo Cheers for Environmental Justice Cynicism
Ann is a little puzzled about what the environmental justice community hopes to achieve by suing the state over cap-and-trade: why would a carbon tax be better? she asks. Sean says that we need to understand that the EJ community is deeply committed to a series of process-oriented goals, and believe that these goals have …
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CONTINUE READINGReflections on environmental justice and AB 32’s emissions trading program
I have a few thoughts on environmental justice and the new court decision halting implementation of the AB 32 scoping plan, inspired by my colleague Ann Carlson’s post, and the comments on that post. Reflecting on the environmental justice community’s successful (at least temporarily) attack on greenhouse gas emissions trading in California – and on the …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Dump Trucks v. CARB
The California Dump Truck Owners Association (“CDTOA”) filed suit in February 2011 against the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”). The suit alleges that CARB’s Truck and Bus Regulation, which is part of the suite of regulations under AB 32 to address greenhouse gas emissions, is unconstitutional. CARB’s Truck and Bus Regulation sets stricter emissions standards for …
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CONTINUE READINGAB 32 Lawsuit: Assessing the Environmental Justice Arguments Against Cap and Trade
As Cara wrote yesterday, a California court has put AB 32 on hold temporarily on the grounds that in preparing its scoping plan, the California Air Resources Board failed to assess alternatives to its plan with appropriate detail. In particular, the court took issue with CARB’s failure , under the California Environmental Quality Act, to …
CONTINUE READINGCourt issues final ruling in AB 32 challenge — enjoins implementation of AB 32 scoping plan pending CEQA fixes
On Friday, a California superior court judge handed down his decision in the challenge, brought by environmental justice advocates, to the state’s implementation of AB 32, California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act. The decision is available here. More analysis to come. On first read, the decision looks very similar to the tentative decision issued by the …
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