By Katherine J. Hart

The recent case of Voices of the Wetlands v. State Water Resources Control Board (2011) 52 Cal.4th 499, involves the issuance of an NPDES permit by the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (“Regional Board”) authorizing the Moss Landing Power Plant (then owned by Duke Energy, now owned by Dynegy) to draw cooling water from Moss Landing Harbor and Elkhorn Slough. Plaintiff Voices of the Wetlands challenged the permit raising a number of legal issues, but only the following three issues were addressed by the California Supreme Court:

(1)   Did the superior court have jurisdiction to consider the administrative mandamus petition at issue?

(2)   Did the trial court improperly order an interlocutory remand after finding insufficient evidence to support the Regional Board’s best technology available (BTA) finding?

(3)   Does section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) permit a cost-benefit analysis in determining best technology available?

The court left unresolved the issue of whether compensatory mitigation and habitat restoration measures can be a component of BTA.

Continue Reading California Supreme Court Rules Interlocutory Remand a Valid Remedy in Writ Petitions

By William W. Abbott

Recent polls suggest that Proposition XIII remains as popular today as when it was enacted. Yet, at the same time, residents demand a high level of services which exceed the ability of local officials to fund absent innovation in developing new funding strategies. This innovation in turn has generated a series of voter enacted limitations designed to further restrict new revenue measures, absent voter approval. Part of this voter legacy is Proposition 218, enacted in 1996 (California Constitution Art XIIID).

Continue Reading Finding the Special in Special Benefits after Proposition 218

By Cori M. Badgley

In early 2011, the State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) released three draft statewide NPDES permits for public review and comment. To say that these permits were not well-received by the regulated community (i.e., small municipalities, CalTrans and industrial business owners) is an understatement. In a rare intervention by members of the state legislature into the realm of state agencies, the Senate Select Committee on California Job Creation and Retention held an informational hearing on the draft permits on October 6, 2011. The message from the hearing came across loud and clear: time for a do-over.

Continue Reading Senate Committee Scolds SWRCB in Recent Hearing on Draft Statewide Permits

By William W. Abbott

In CEQA and land use litigation, project opponents who prevail in court will seek attorneys’ fees as authorized by Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5. This code section grants a trial court the discretion to award fees in appropriate situations. In circumstances in which the opponents must first exhaust administrative remedies before filing suit, can the successful party also recover fees for the administrative time? A recent appellate decision answers the question with a "yes".

Continue Reading Code of Civil Procedure §1021.5 Authorizes a Prevailing Party to Recover Its Attorney Fees for Administrative Time As Well As in Litigation

By Glen C. Hansen

In Sierra Forest Legacy v. Sherman (9th Cir. 2011) 646 F.3d 1161, the United States Forest Service established management guidelines under the 2004 Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment (“2004 Framework”) that govern 11.5 million acres of federal land in the Sierra Nevada region. Environmental groups and the State of California filed separate actions challenging the 2004 Framework under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), and the environmental groups also challenged the 2004 Framework under the National Forest Management Act (“NFMA”). The parties cross-moved for summary judgment. The U.S. District Court (a) issued a summary judgment that was largely unfavorable to the plaintiffs; (b) issued a limited remedial order in favor of plaintiffs that required the Forest Service to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement to remedy a NEPA error; and (c) denied plaintiffs’ request to enjoin implementation of the 2004 Framework in the interim.

Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Issues Mixed Ruling Re NEPA and NFMA Challenges to 2004 Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment

By William W. Abbott

How many mitigated negative declarations are required to avoid an EIR? In the recent decision of Schenck v. County of Sonoma (August 26, 2011, SCV-244017) ___Cal.App.4th ___, the answer is five. One can speculate that after five negative declarations, an EIR perhaps would have been a quicker route (and perhaps less expensive option) to reach the finish line. While the portion of this case devoted to the “fair argument” analysis remains unpublished, the court’s published ruling that certain procedural errors are not prejudicial is helpful, as well as the appellate court’s affirmation that the trial court can fashion a tailored remedy to cure a CEQA error, and is not compelled to reverse project approval.

Continue Reading Not Every CEQA Notice Defect is Prejudicial; Not Every CEQA Violation Compels Setting Aside the Approval

By Glen C. Hansen

In Tafti v. County of Tulare (2011) 198 Cal.App.4th 891, the Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District held that a local enforcement agency violated the due process rights of a property owner when it failed to provide adequate notice of the nature of an administrative appeal hearing where an administrative law judge recalculated a civil penalty in an amount that was over eight times the penalty amount stated in the original enforcement order that the owner appealed from.

Continue Reading Property Owner Hit With $137,778 Civil Penalty, Appeals, And (Without Adequate Notice) Ends Up A $1,148,200 Penalty! Court Reverses for Lack of Due Process.

By Cori Badgley

In Gutierrez v. County of San Bernardino (2011) 198 Cal.App.4th 831, the appellate court grappled with the application of the “reasonableness” takings test that applies to flood control projects. The court concluded that the county acted reasonably, and therefore, there was no taking.

Continue Reading A Series of Unfortunate Events… That are Not Compensable under Inverse Condemnation

By William W. Abbott

Clover Valley Foundation v. City of Rocklin (2011) 197 Cal.App.4th 200

As the State’s public disclosure statute, CEQA directs lead agencies to disclose the likely impacts associated with agency approvals. While legal caution dictates that more disclosure is preferable to less disclosure, lead agencies have to recognize that there are two notable exceptions to this practice: resource specific information relating to cultural resources (Government Code section 6254, CEQA Guidelines section 15120(d) and trade secrets (CEQA Guidelines section 15120(d). A recent decision explores how a lead agency can properly navigate the conflicting requirements of disclosure and confidentiality.

Continue Reading Balancing CEQA’s Full Disclosure Requirements with the Protection of Cultural Resources

By William W. Abbott

Malibu Bay Company (“MDC”) owns the last undeveloped beach front parcel in Malibu, a 2.08 acre, 200 foot wide parcel. In order to accommodate its proposed division into four parcels, MDC proposed an amendment to the Local Implementation Plan of Malibu’s local coastal plan in order to create a new zoning district which would allow for lot widths of 45’, a decrease from the then existing standard of 80’. As the application advanced to the City Council, staff ultimately recommended that the required width for all parcels in same district as MDC’s property was located in, be reduced to the 45’ standard. Altogether, this would impact 733 parcels, although as staff noted, a majority of the existing parcels were already substandard to the 80 width standard. Staff further determined that only 5 parcels (including MDC’s) were capable of further division under the proposed 45’ lot width standard. Two of the five were subject to additional legal limitations precluding further re-division, leaving only two parcels in addition to MDCs. Staff concluded that with respect to the two with potential for re-division, that any further re-division would require a coastal development permit and CEQA review. Concluding that there would be negligible direct and cumulative effects on aesthetics, biological resources and land use and planning, staff recommended acceptance of a negative declaration. Due to the presence of a dune environmentally sensitive area, and based further upon a dune study submitted by the applicant’s biologist, mitigation for dune species was required. The City Council eventually approved a revised mitigated declaration, and conditionally granted the approvals, subject to Coastal Commission approval. Neighbors opposed the approval of the entitlements, and submitted a biologist study indicating potential impacts to sensitive species.

Continue Reading Coastal Commission Properly Resolved Conflicting City Development Standards; Negative Declaration Was Upheld