This is the third update on environmental regulatory and legal developments in Los Angeles and adjacent counties, as well as the Southern San Joaquin Valley. We welcome your comments and updates. South Coast Air Quality Management District *Governing Board Shift: New Governing Board Member Sheila Kuehl replaced Mike Antonovich, returning the Board to a Democratic … Continue Reading
On March 23, 2017, the California Air Resources Board (“ARB”) adopted regulations for Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Facilities (“Methane Regulations”). The Methane Regulations impose emission controls on offshore and onshore oil production and processing facilities and at natural gas compressor stations, underground storage facilities, and gathering and boosting stations.… Continue Reading
The recent wave of climate change legislation in California also included a new and not particularly well-known law aimed at curbing greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions associated with water use. SB 1425 will create a voluntary registry to track the water sector’s energy use and GHG emissions. According to Senator Pavley, the author of SB 1425, … Continue Reading
Not to be outdone by its federal counter-parts, the California Air Resources Board (“ARB”) released Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Facilities (“proposed rule”) for methane emissions on Tuesday, May 31, following a slew of recent federal regulations targeting reduction of methane emissions. Cal. Code Regs. tit. 14, §§ 95665-95676 (proposed). … Continue Reading
My colleague, Michael Sherman, posted yesterday about two issues decided in the California Supreme Court’s decision in Center for Biological Diversity v. California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Today, I’ll address the part of the decision that involves the evaluation of the Newhall Ranch project’s greenhouse gas emissions. In short, the Court just made it a … Continue Reading
While many of us were busy hitting refresh for those great Cyber Monday deals, the California Supreme Court quietly issued its decision on the Newhall Ranch project. In a decision reminiscent of the snail darter era, the Court held that “fully protected fish” are just that — fully protected under California law from all forms … Continue Reading
February 27, 2015 was the deadline for lawmakers to introduce legislation to the 2015-2016 California Legislative Session and several bills related to oil and gas activities were introduced. Below is a summary of those bills. Stoel Rives is monitoring these bills and will provide periodic updates as the bills move through the legislative process. SENATE … Continue Reading
Our previous post on the Second District Court of Appeal’s decision in Center for Biological Diversity v. Department of Fish & Wildlife, No. B245141 (Mar. 20, 2014), highlighted the court’s holdings on California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California Endangered Species Act (CESA) issues. The opinion also provides a useful (although unpublished) discussion on how … Continue Reading
By Ryan R. Waterman, Parissa Ebrahimzadeh What does California have planned for the year 2020? An ambitious collection of energy related goals. Stoel Rives attorneys Ryan Waterman and Parissa Ebrahimzadeh explore nine California energy policy goals in an article entitled “California’s “Magic” Number: Nine Goals for 2020 and Where We May Go From There,” published … Continue Reading
Authored by Carissa Beecham In Friends of Oroville, et al. v. City of Oroville, et al. (“Friends of Oroville”) (filed and published in part on August 19, 2013), the Third District Court of Appeal partially reversed the trial court in finding that the City of Oroville’s (“City”) EIR improperly analyzed the greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions … Continue Reading
California’s Cap and Trade Program is now a reality. Businesses needs answers to questions arising from this complex program. Now that the State of California has held its first auction of carbon allowances under the Program and the initial compliance period of 2013-2014 is now underway, Stoel attorneys Michael Mills, Tom Henry and Allison Smith … Continue Reading
On October 20, 2011 the California Air Resources Control Board (CARB) passed the cap-and-trade regulation that was called for the in the AB32 Scoping Plan. The main focus of the regulation is to establish a program that allocates a certain allowance of greenhouse gas emissions to the industry based on certain calculations. Those emissions allowances … Continue Reading
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Central District (SJVAPCD) has released a Final Draft Staff Report and proposed rule revising Rule 2301 that concerns the banking of greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. The rule amends the SJVUAPCD’s existing offset banking Rule 2301 and would allow entities to bank GHG credits generated by protocols issued by California … Continue Reading
Four major RFPs for the Cap and Trade Program are out for public review. Essentially the four RFPs are for: 1) An operator to run the auction; 2) A contractor to provide financial services for participants that need to purchase emission allowances; 3) An entity to monitor the market and report activities in various jurisdictions that may … Continue Reading
The California Air Resources Board has released draft changes to the Board’s late 2010 version of its greenhouse gas cap-and-trade regulation. The changes deal with emission allocations for public and investor-owned utilities, changes the timing of auctions, the scope of enforcement, and other issues. A workshop will has been set for July 15, 2011.… Continue Reading
Supreme Court dismisses federal common law nuisance GHG suits against power producers because of federal Clean Air Act preemption, does not rule on state preemption issues. The case also dealt with issues of standing and agency primacy. See http://www.lawofrenewableenergy.com/ for the full details.… Continue Reading
