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Courthouse News Service – December 7th
Seven states and a number of industry groups battling to revive a Trump-era rule that restricted the scope of the Clean Water Act suffered a setback in court this Tuesday when a federal judge put their motion to reinstate the rule by Denied appeal. The parties had asked senior U.S. District Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to postpone his October 22 ruling invalidating the rule while the Biden administration spends the next 16 months trying it to check and possibly replace. The industry groups argued that repealing the rule could thwart key energy projects, impose high costs on project developers and harm the economy. In his ruling, Judge Alsup rejected this argument, stating that the groups can still fully participate in the US Environmental Protection Agency’s rulemaking process that is currently underway.
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The Fresno Bee – December 9th
The Biden administration on Thursday appointed Martha Guzman Aceves, a five-year member of the California Public Utilities Commission and longtime advocate of disadvantaged communities, to lead Region 9 of the US Environmental Protection Agency for the Southwestern United States and the Pacific Islands. Her roles on the Public Utilities Commission include overseeing utility taxes, expanding broadband access, making water affordable, clean energy programs, and preventing utility disruptions in low-income communities.
Times of San Diego – December 8th
The Port of San Diego (Port) announced last Thursday that it has begun installing 300 “reef balls” alongside the Chula Vista Wildlife Refuge as part of the South Bay Native Oyster Living Shoreline Project. The project, in partnership with the California State Coastal Conservancy and the US Fish & Wildlife Service, is the latest of several port projects aimed at protecting the coastline from the effects of rising sea levels and the biodiversity of San Diego Bay by creating new marine areas to increase habitats.
SFGate – December 9th
In an effort to preserve the flora and restore the sequoia trees, a San Francisco-based environmental group signed an agreement to purchase five miles of oceanfront land in Mendocino County known as the Lost Coast for 20 years. The Save the Redwoods League announced Thursday that it had agreed to buy the DeVilbiss Ranch historic woodland north of Rockport for $ 37 million if it can raise the money by the end of the year. The group plans to save the route from deforestation and preserve it for public use.
San Francisco Chronicle – December 7th
Alameda County Superior Court judge Frank Roesch has sided with environmental groups and announced nationwide use of the pesticide sulfoxaflor, which kills insects on many plants but is poisonous to honeybees. The state Department of Pesticide Regulation, under Governor Gavin Newsom, lifted California’s ban on sulfoxaflor in spring 2020 and approved limited use of the chemical in spring 2020. The department said its application for plants would have an overall positive impact and court files turned down predictions from Damage to bees as “speculative”.
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https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/california-environmental-law-policy-7576822/