California
Groundwater Management Lite for California
New State Groundwater Legislation a Key Step Forward, But No Immediate Fix or Long-Term Panacea
The California Legislature, in the waning hours of its 2014 session, enacted legislation creating a first-ever statewide system of groundwater management. The three-bill package (SB 1168 [Pavley]; SB 1319 [Pavley]; and AB 1719 [Dickinson]) is expected to be signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown before the end of this month, and will take …
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CONTINUE READINGCleaning The Grid With “Second Life” Electric Vehicle Batteries
Register now for a webinar on the forthcoming UCLA/UC Berkeley Law report, next Friday from 10-11am
As California faces an increasing need for more energy storage to integrate variable renewables and provide other grid services, used electric vehicle batteries could be a critical – and inexpensive – part of the solution. Sales of electric vehicles in the United States are heading toward a quarter million, with 100,000 of those purchases in …
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CONTINUE READINGSome lessons from l’affaire Tesla
There has been a lot of commentary over the decision by Tesla to make its multi-billion dollar investment in a new battery factory in Nevada, rather than California. There have been some criticisms that California did not do enough to lure Tesla here, and/or that its business climate is not supportive enough for investment, including …
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CONTINUE READINGKashkari’s Unworkable Environmental Review “Reform” Plan
Net zero buildings for everyone?
In last night’s California gubernatorial debate, Republican candidate Neel Kashkari proposed a major reform to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which requires environmental review of new projects. But rather than gutting CEQA completely, a la State-Senator-turned-Chevron-lobbyist Michael Rubio, Kashkari proposed to give all projects the same breaks that the Sacramento Kings received in last …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory Could Be Bad For The Environment, Compared To A California Site
Electric vehicle pioneer to announce its siting decision today
Some California environmentalists may be celebrating now that Tesla has apparently decided to build its $5 billion “gigafactory” in Nevada instead of California. Lawmakers here had toyed with the idea of weakening the state’s signature environmental law, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), to help expedite review on the factory and therefore encourage Tesla to …
CONTINUE READINGMisleading Attacks On California’s New Transportation Analysis Under CEQA
Big Law Firm Holland & Knight Misrepresents New State Guidelines
Last year, the California legislature passed badly needed reform to change how agencies evaluate a project’s transportation impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) was tasked with coming up with new guidelines for how this analysis should be done going forward. As I blogged about, the …
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CONTINUE READINGClosely Confined Chickens, Interstate Conflict & the Dormant Commerce Clause
Is Proposition 2, California’s Pioneering Animal Welfare Law, Unconstitutional?
Last week witnessed a most interesting constitutional showdown between sovereign states in U.S. District Court in Sacramento. At issue is animal welfare legislation California has enacted both at the ballot box and through its elected representatives. The enemy combatants are a coalition of midwestern states led by Missouri, aligned against the State of California, with …
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CONTINUE READINGTransit-Oriented Projects In California Won’t Be Penalized For Traffic Impacts Anymore
Governor’s Office Releases New Environmental Review Guidelines
Back in 2013, there was significant discussion about reforming the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), with the business community and its attorneys arguing that CEQA is nothing more than a litigation tool for opponents of new projects. Some environmentalists and labor unions countered that CEQA is necessary for decision-makers to adequately assess the environmental impacts …
CONTINUE READINGThe Hydrology of the Public Trust
The Public Trust Doctrine Gives California Regulators the Authority to Monitor Groundwater Pumping
A couple of weeks ago, Rick reported that California might finally be ready to institute some form of statewide groundwater regulation. (The original California Water Act regulating surface water is now more than 100 years old, and when it was enacted, many observers thought that groundwater regulation was just around the corner: hey, what’s a century …
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CONTINUE READINGHydrogen “Fool” Cells Vs. Electric Vehicles
The debate over the best clean vehicle technology
California recently committed to spending $50 million on 28 public hydrogen fuel cell charging stations, throwing gasoline (bad pun) on the fire of a growing debate: electric vehicles vs, hydrogen fuel cells as the carbon-free vehicle technology of the future. California policy makers seem to think it may be both, based on their spending to …
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