CEQA

California legislature considers environmental bills

The California Legislature has several environmental and land use bills in front of it right now.  Under state law, the legislature must act by August 31 in order to send any of these bills to the Governor for signature.  Here’s a quick summary of the pending legislation, with some links for further info.  (Current information …

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A “thank you” to legislators who exempted the proposed L.A. football stadium from California’s environmental review law?

Last fall, I wrote about the California Legislature’s effort to exempt the proposed football stadium in the City of Industry from further environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  I didn’t follow up on that post, but the Legislature ultimately approved the exemption in a special session in the fall.  Now, Los Angeles Times …

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Don’t Give Up on the San Fernando Valley!

Ethan is surely right when he notes that MetroRail ridership in the San Fernando Valley: 1) isn’t as high as it should be; and 2) this results in part from a lack of leadership on land use.  But I wouldn’t write the Valley off just yet. First, recall that there are only two Valley stations …

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California Supreme Court decides in favor of accurate environmental impact analysis (and cleaner air)

The California Supreme Court just issued an important decision interpreting public agencies’ obligations under the California Environmental Quality Act.  This case will result in cleaner air in southern California.  It also establishes that public agencies must measure environmental impacts from a new project against actual existing conditions, rather than against theoretical conditions (based on permits …

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CEQA thresholds of significance for greenhouse gas emissions: a strange but good process

Way back in the old days, before 2006 and AB 32 (California’s landmark law limiting greenhouse gas emissions statewide), the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was the critical tool to limit greenhouse gas emissions from projects around the state.  CEQA is the law that requires state and local agencies to assess the significant environmental impacts …

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California Legislature may decide L.A. football stadium can go forward, despite allegations of inadequate environmental review

Great minds may disagree about whether a new professional football stadium (or team, for that matter) would be good for Los Angeles.  But a new last-minute bill that the California State Senate is considering today, which would eliminate further environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act for a newly-approved stadium complex in the City …

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New court ruling requires City, Wal-Mart to re-analyze GHG impacts of development and consider a more climate-friendly alternative

Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), local governments and state agencies in California must analyze the environmental impacts of any permit to approve a new development project, and must identify and promise to implement mitigation to the extent feasible, before approving the project.  Over the last two years, it has become clear that climate …

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Updating the Delta litigation line-up

The era of collaboration and cooperation that CalFed briefly brought to management of California’s water system is well and truly over. Lawsuits are multiplying like rabbits, promising to provide full employment for water and natural resource lawyers in California for the foreseeable future. For those of you scoring at home, here are some of the …

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