California
Replumbing Los Angeles – Painfully Slowly
The City has captured 5.5 billion gallons of stormwater since October 1st — and that is literally just a drop in the bucket.
This caught my attention last week: The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power says it has captured nearly 5.5 billion gallons of water since Oct. 1 following the recent storms. Mayor Karen Bass’ office announced the estimate on Tuesday, saying it’s enough to serve almost 68,000 homes for an entire year. According to …
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CONTINUE READINGWe are Drowning in Plastic. Will a New Law Save Us?
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
My family recently spent a warm November morning ankle-deep in mucky, brackish water, fishing out used condoms and syringes near Venice Beach. It stands out as one of the best days I’ve had all year. We were volunteering with Ballona Creek Renaissance, a local nonprofit that alongside Friends of the Ballona Wetlands organizes creek cleanups …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat’s The Matter With Progressive Billionaires?
Tom Steyer is a good man, but his new gubernatorial campaign ignores how to build real power
It seems like everyone and his brother-in-law is running for California Governor nowadays, and a week ago we got another one: progressive billionaire and climate champion Tom Steyer. One might think that this should be cause for celebration from environmentalists. Steyer is a good man. He has poured money into progressive causes and charities, as …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Top Ten Things to be Thankful for this Year
It’s been a horrible year for federal environmental law, but there are hopeful developments elsewhere.
This is, if not the winter of our discontent, at least the late autumn. In terms of federal environmental policy, 2025 has been a disaster. Trump’s previous term in office pales by comparison. But all is not gloomy. Outside of D.C., there have been encouraging developments within the U.S. and globally.
Here are ten of those positive developments.
A Full-Court Press on Methane, Climate in the Governor’s Race
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
Replacing high-carbon fossil fuels with clean energy while also adapting to climate change — that’s the ballgame. But we may not get to the ninth inning in one piece if we don’t deal with methane first. That’s one takeaway from the COP30 UN climate summit. Pick your metaphor — and there are many — but …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Promise and Growing Pains of Managed Aquifer Recharge
By Dave Owen, Helen E. Dahlke, Andrew T. Fisher, Ellen Bruno, and Michael Kiparsky
Around the world, groundwater mismanagement is a major driver of water crises. An emerging method for addressing such mismanagement, called managed aquifer recharge, has generated excitement among scholars and water managers. In a newly published article (Owen et al. 2025), we argue that this excitement, while often justified, should also be tempered by acknowledgment …
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CONTINUE READINGThe CPUC Makes Good on Neighborhood Electrification
The state’s gas utilities tried to delay priority zones for decarbonization. The CPUC rejected that approach and has selected priority neighborhoods.
Here’s something to celebrate: the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) released its proposed decision designating initial priority neighborhood decarbonization zones. Loyal readers of Legal Planet will have followed our coverage on SB 1221, a law passed last fall that allows the CPUC to support “neighborhood decarbonization zones” to transition away from natural gas toward zero-emissions alternatives. Phasing out natural gas …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Lingering Legal Issue of California’s Limits on Vehicle Emissions
The issues are complex, but the state has some strong legal arguments on its side.
The odds are high that the Trump Administration will withdraw California’s power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks – and along with it, California’s effort to become all-electric. This is a crucial issue for the state because transportation accounts for about 40% of the state’s emissions. It’s also crucial for the other states have exercised the option of adopting California standards. The issues are complex, involving an unusual statutory scheme. Here’s what you need to know, and why I think California should win this fight.
CONTINUE READINGGood COP, Bad COP in Belém, Brazil
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
The United Nations mega-conference focused on climate change known as COP (“Conference of the Parties”) is well underway in Belém, Brazil with 193 countries plus the EU, 57 heads of state, 39 ministers and hundreds of governors, mayors, and local officials participating. Two of my UCLA Law colleagues are on the ground in Belém this …
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CONTINUE READINGOf Pistachios and Water Features
What might be included in the SB 131’s CEQA exemption for advanced manufacturing may surprise you
One of the most controversial provisions of SB 131, which created a range of new CEQA exemptions, was an exemption for “a facility for advanced manufacturing, as defined in Section 26003, if the project is located on a site zoned exclusively for industrial uses.” But what on earth might that cover? Is this a broad …
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