A California appellate court upheld a county's certification of an environmental impact report (EIR) regarding a proposed solar power development. A citizens group argued that the county violated the California Environmental Quality Act when it certified the EIR and approved the project because the ...

The North Carolina Supreme Court held an injured person may not bring a civil action against a defendant under the Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973 (SPCA) when the defendant has received notices of noncompliance but has not been cited for a violation of a relevant law, rule, order, or ero...

The Fifth Circuit held that the CAA does not preempt a local ordinance that allows taxicabs certified to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) to cut ahead of gasoline-powered taxis in the queue for picking up passengers at Love Field Airport in Dallas. The ordinance does not create an enforceable sta...

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down portions of the Los Angeles port's "Clean Truck Program," which was designed in part to reduce emissions related to port operations, including emissions from trucks. The concession agreements implementing the plan set forth a number of provisions covering, among ot...

A California court ordered a city to set aside its approval of a development project until it complies with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The environmental impact report for the project failed to summarize documents incorporated by reference in violation of CEQA guidelines. This f...

A district court dismissed a city's lawsuit against California state and local air districts challenging fees it must pay to mitigate wind-blown dust from a dry lake bed that exceed state and federal air standards. Section 42316 of the California Health and Safety Code authorized the district to ord...

A New York appellate court held that the state's Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Law (OGSML) does not preempt, either expressly or impliedly, a municipality's power to enact a local zoning ordinance banning all activities related to the exploration for, and the production or storage of, natural gas and...

A California court held that San Diego County's climate action plan violates the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and must be set aside. The plan should have been the subject of a supplemental environmental impact report (EIR) under CEQA instead of an addendum to the county's existing Pro...

A California appellate court upheld the denial of a fishing club's petition for a writ of mandate directing the California Fish and Game Commission to vacate its regulations that create Marine Protected Areas and Marine Managed Areas in state waters of an area of the Pacific Ocean known as the North...