The California High-Speed Rail Authority (“CHSRA”) issued a press release with the status of its construction work for the high-speed rail project (the “Project”) at seven active sites in the Central Valley. Many of the Project’s segments in Madera and Fresno are beginning to see development; the foundation has been established in several sections, rebar … Continue Reading
The High-Speed Rail Authority (“HSRA”) issued a progress report for the High-Speed Rail Project (the “Project”) last week, describing the HSRA’s challenges and successes to date. One of the highlights of the report was the HSRA’s January groundbreaking in Fresno for the first segment of the Project’s 520-mile route. The report also discusses the progress … Continue Reading
On January 26, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) issued a letter to the California High-Speed Rail Authority (the “Authority”) that found that the Authority’s contractors are not in compliance with the Authority’s original environmental commitments to the USFWS in performing the preliminary work on the first segment of the high-speed rail project (the … Continue Reading
On December 10, 2014, the California Supreme Court granted petition for review in Friends of the Eel River v. North Coast Railroad Authority to resolve a split between the First and Third District Courts of Appeal. (230 Cal.App.4th 85 (2014), cert. granted, 339 P.3d 329, Cal. S.C. Case No. S222472 (2014).) The Court will consider two questions: … Continue Reading
As the High Speed Rail Authority (“Authority”) prepares to begin construction this week of the first segment of the High Speed Rail Project (the “Project”), the State Public Works Board is concurrently scrambling to consider resolutions of necessity to acquire property for the first segment within Fresno and Madera counties. Because of the recent litigation … Continue Reading
The Surface Transportation Board (“STB”) issued a declaratory order in a 2-1 vote last Friday, finding that the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) is categorically preempted by federal law, as it relates to the Fresno to Bakersfield segment of the California High-Speed Rail Project (“HSR Project”).
Section 10501(b) of Title 49 of the United States Code provides that remedies with respect to rail transportation are exclusive and preempt remedies provided under State or Federal law. The STB has previously ruled that states or localities are precluded from intruding into matters directly regulated by the STB, in particular when the state or local action would have the effect of foreclosing or unduly restricting the rail carrier’s ability to conduct its operations or otherwise unreasonably burden interstate commerce.
Under this section, the STB could not overlook the fact that CEQA, as a state pre-clearance requirement, could ultimately deny or significantly delay the High-Speed Rail Authority’s (the “Authority”) right to construct a railroad line. This would directly defy the STB’s exclusive jurisdiction over a project that it regulates. Even if it could be argued that the Authority created an implied agreement by voluntarily beginning the CEQA process, the STB concluded that any such agreement would unreasonably interfere with interstate commerce because it would prevent the Authority from exercising its authority to construct the rail line, which it had been previously authorized to do by the STB.… Continue Reading
James Andrew, Assistant Chief Counsel for the California High-Speed Rail Authority (“CHSRA”), spoke Tuesday, October 14, at the Sacramento County Bar Association, Environmental Law Section Luncheon. He stated that High-Speed Rail (“HSR”) is a “transformative project” in that it will be the largest infrastructure project ever built as one single project. However, the “regulatory scheme has not … Continue Reading
The State Public Works Board (the “Board”) adopted four Resolutions of Necessity approving the High-Speed Rail Authority’s (the “Authority”) use of eminent domain for public necessity to acquire four parcels in Fresno and Madera County for the Initial Operating Segment of the High-Speed Rail Project (the “Project”). (Click HERE for map of Initial Operating Segment.) … Continue Reading
The Third District Court of Appeal reversed a Sacramento Superior Court Judge’s ruling that prohibited the High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) from selling bonds under Proposition 1A to construct the High Speed Rail Project (the Project) and ordered the HSRA to draft a new funding plan for the construction and operation of the Project. (See … Continue Reading
In Town of Atherton v. CA High Speed Rail Authority, No. C070877 (Cal. Ct. App. 3d Dist., July 24, 2014), the Third Appellate District upheld the High-Speed Rail Authority’s (HSRA) Program Environmental Impact Report/ Program Environmental Impact Statement (PEIR/PEIS) for the Bay Area to San Joaquin Valley segment of California’s High Speed Rail system (the … Continue Reading
The Sacramento Bee has reported that the Legislature’s budget proposal for the high-speed rail project has been finalized. Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic lawmakers have agreed to use 25 percent of future cap-and-trade funds, totaling $250 million, to continue construction of the $68 billion California High-Speed Rail Project (the “Project”). The floor votes for the … Continue Reading
The California High Speed Rail Authority’s (the “Authority”) Board of Directors unanimously voted on Wednesday to certify the Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the Fresno to Bakersfield alignment of the high-speed rail project (the “Project”) and approve the selected alignment. Click HERE for a map of the approved alignment. The Federal Railroad Administration … Continue Reading
Despite recent obstacles, the California High Speed Rail Authority (the “Authority”) remains steadfast in its determination to complete the high-speed rail project (the “Project”), bolstered by recent approvals from various state agencies. First, the Authority received the green light last Friday from the State Public Works Board to begin eminent domain proceedings against eight properties … Continue Reading
Last Friday, Governor Brown’s administration (the “Petitioners”) filed a petition for extraordinary writ of mandate and application for temporary stay with the California Supreme Court, challenging Superior Court Judge Michael Kenney’s decision last November to halt construction of the high-speed rail project. On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court declined to consider the petition and instead transferred … Continue Reading
On the heels of Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael Kenney’s decision halting an $8 billion bond sale for the construction of the California high-speed rail (“HSR”) project, Governor Jerry Brown has submitted a budget proposal to reapportion money from California’s surplus fund to the HSR project. Notably, the surplus fund includes $850 million generated … Continue Reading
The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s (the “Authority”) first request to seize a parcel in Fresno County through eminent domain has been approved by the State Public Works Board (the “SPWB”), the state agency that oversees fiscal matters associated with construction of projects for state agencies. The Authority made its request to the SPWB because its … Continue Reading
A ruling by the Sacramento County Superior Court has presented a major roadblock to the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s (“Authority”) high-speed rail project (“Project”). On November 25, 2013, Judge Michael Kenny ruled that the Authority was not authorized to sell $8 billion of the $10 billion in state bonds designated for project funding under Proposition … Continue Reading
The parties in a pending Sacramento Superior Court action, Tos, et. al. v. California High Speed Rail Authority, et al., have submitted supplemental briefing in preparation for a hearing next week. The supplemental briefing addresses the Court’s uncertainty as to whether the issuance of a writ of mandate invalidating the High Speed Rail Authority’s (“Authority”) … Continue Reading
The California High-Speed Rail Authority ("Authority") had a major setback on Friday when Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny ruled that the Authority had "abused its discretion by approving a funding plan that did not comply with the requirements of [Proposition 1A]" and failed to identify "sources of funds that were more than merely theoretically possible."
Proposition 1A, which voters passed in 2008, requires the Authority to identify the funding for the entire first segment of the high-speed rail project and clear all environmental review prior to commencing construction. Last summer, lawmakers authorized selling $2.6 billion in state bonds for construction of the first segment, the 130 miles from Madera to Fresno, and allowed the state to tap $3.3 billion in federal matching funds. During the hearing, the Authority argued that it had complied with Proposition 1A because the requirements only apply to the construction of the first 130-mile segment.… Continue Reading
Two Republican State Assemblymen (Jim Patterson, R-Fresno and Frank Bigelow, R-O’Neals) submitted a request to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee on Tuesday for an investigation into the California High Speed Rail Authority’s (“Authority”) appraisal process, assessment of land values, and the role of private contractors in the Authority’s acquisition of 356 parcels in the Central … Continue Reading
The High-Speed Rail Authority’s (the “Authority”) monthly Board of Directors meeting in Sacramento is scheduled for tomorrow, June 6, 2013. Many supporters and opponents of the High-Speed Rail Project (the “Project”) have been waiting anxiously for this meeting because the previously released agenda indicated that the Board would approve a rail alignment between Fresno and … Continue Reading
On the eve of target date to commence construction, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (the “Authority”) managed to settle the remaining environmental lawsuit that jeopardized the construction of the initial segment of the High-Speed Rail project. On April 18, 2013, the Madera County Farm Bureau, Merced County Farm Bureau, Chowchilla Water District, Preserve Our Heritage, … Continue Reading
The California High Speed Rail Authority (Authority) convened last Thursday, April 7 at Fresno City Hall to discuss the high-speed rail project’s (Project) alternative routes in the Central Valley. Project planners presented a recommendation for the Fresno-to-Bakersfield route that will follow the BNSF Railway track until it heads west to Hanford and passes through Corcoran, … Continue Reading
See the following post in our Mineral Law Blog to learn more about the forecasted shortage of construction aggregate resources (sand, gravel and crushed stone) in California. This shortage may lead to higher costs and greater environmental impacts for development projects in California, including projects such as the California High-Speed Rail Project.… Continue Reading
