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Court Nixes Groups’ Endangered Species Suits, OKs State Case

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Ellen Gilmer

Environmental and animal advocacy groups haven’t shown they have legal standing to challenge the Trump administration’s revised Endangered Species Act regulations, but a lawsuit from a coalition of states can move forward, a federal court ruled Monday.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California tossed a lawsuit from the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, and other groups, and a similar suit from the Animal Legal Defense Fund, but gave them 21 days to file an amended complaint with more information to support their claims that the regulations harm their members.

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California Sues EPA for Suspending Pollution Enforcement During Coronavirus Pandemic

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Bob Egelko

California, along with eight other states, sued the Trump administration Wednesday over the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to stop requiring companies to monitor and report air and water pollution during the coronavirus pandemic.

Three days after receiving a request from the American Petroleum Institute to halt pollution enforcement, the EPA’s compliance director, Susan Parker Bodine, announced a new policy March 26. Retroactive to March 13, when President Trump had declared a state of emergency over COVID-19, Bodine said, businesses could decide for themselves when it would no longer be practical to monitor pollution and report it to federal, state and local agencies.

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States Sue Trump Administration over Rollback of Obama-era Water Protection

/in , , /by /The Hillby Rebecca Beitsch

A coalition of 17 Democratic-leaning states sued the Trump administration on Friday for rolling back Obama-era protections for waterways, arguing the move ignores science on the interconnectivity of water.

President Trump’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule limits federal protections for a number of smaller waterways, which many scientists say risks pesticides and pollution reaching larger ones.

“This rule opens the door to new, and worse industry pollution that endangers our wildlife, it dirties our drinking water and increases the risk of harmful contamination of our nation’s waterways. In short, it risks the health and safety of Americans around the nation,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) said in a call with reporters announcing the suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and asks to vacate the rule entirely.

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Lawsuits Fly Amid State, Federal Changes in California Water Delivery and Use

/in , , /by /Engineering News-Recordby Mary B. Powers

California Environmental groups on April 29 challenged in court the state Dept. of Water Resources decision not to include a proposed 40-mile tunnel in its most recent environmental assessment needed to reauthorize long-term operation of the State Water Project—a 700-mile system of dams and aqueducts that moves water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to areas in the south.

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Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Smog, Air Quality Rules in Imperial County

/in , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Mark Olaide

Two nonprofit advocacy groups on Monday filed legal action against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in an attempt to secure stricter air quality standards in Imperial County.

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San Diego Will Build 7 Medians in University City to Settle Pure Water Lawsuit

/in , , /by /San Diego Union Tribuneby David Garrick

San Diego has agreed to build seven new road medians in University City at an estimated cost of $1.2 million to settle two lawsuits that sought to block construction of the city’s Pure Water sewage recycling system.

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Groups Bring Suit Over Secret Approval Process for PFAS Chemicals

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Service (Pasadena, Calif.)by Megan Mineiro

Bemoaning the government’s clandestine process of approving widely unregulated PFAS chemicals, environmentalists brought a federal complaint Wednesday to make the chemical program transparent.

Short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS are a class of chemicals ubiquitous in commercial products and disturbingly linked to cancer, infertility, pregnancy complications and other toxic effects.

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Judge Brooks Anderholt Takes Mike Abatti Contempt Lawsuit Against IID Under Submission

/in , , /by /Imperial Valley News

Imperial, California – The Imperial Irrigation District appeared before Imperial County Superior Court Judge Brooks Anderholt, Tuesday, to defend itself in a contempt-of-court lawsuit filed by farmer Mike Abatti. This is an extension of the litigation brought against the district by Abatti in 2013 that challenged IID’s Equitable Distribution Plan, and is currently on appeal before the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

In his latest legal challenge to IID’s water rights and operations, Abatti asked the trial court to find IID in contempt for violating the judge’s August 2017 order prohibiting the district from entering into any new industrial water supply contracts until it implements an EDP based on water history.

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Proposed Settlement Reached in Regional Desal Lawsuit

/in , /by /The Monterey Herald by Jim Johnson

Eight years after the regional desalination project fell apart, the legal battle over its unraveling appears to be nearing a conclusion.

A proposed settlement has been reached among the parties involved including California American Water, Monterey County and the county Water Resources Agency, Marina Coast Water District, and RMC Water and Environment regarding the failed desal project. It was presented on Monday in the San Francisco Superior Court overseeing the long-running lawsuit.

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San Diego Suing SDG&E for $35 Million Over Unpaid Undergrounding Expenses

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Ken Stone

The city is suing San Diego Gas & Electric for what officials call the utility’s refusal to honor promises made when it obtained exclusive rights to provide gas and electricity to San Diegans in 1971.

As the city moves forward with its Pure Water San Diego Program, which will reduce ocean pollution and increase San Diego’s water supply, SDG&E has failed to relocate at its own expense its underground infrastructure that obstructs the city project, which it is required to do under the terms of its contract with the city, said City Attorney Mara Elliott, who made the announcement Wednesday.
In June 2018, the city says, SDG&E refused to undertake design and relocation work for Phase 1 of the program unless the city fronted the money.

“It’s unfortunate that a lawsuit is needed to compel our longtime partner to honor the terms of its contract with the city,” Elliott said. “Pure Water is critical to protecting the ocean from pollution and increasing our water independence. This program cannot be compromised by further delays.”

SDG&E communications manager Wes Jones said: “While we generally do not comment on pending litigation, broadly speaking, SDG&E does not believe the relocation costs of this City of San Diego water project should be spread to customers in the other cities within our service area. We look forward to resolving this matter as quickly as possible.”

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