Tag Archives: Environmental Regulations

California Budget Plan Will Delay Off-Road Diesel Emissions Regulations

By Sheppard Mullin on March 10, 2009 Posted in Environmental Regulations

On February 19, 2009, California legislators ended a three-month-long stalemate and passed a budget designed to meet the $41 billion budget shortfall through 2010. A major provision in the bill package adopted as part of the proposed budget would delay the retrofitting of heavy diesel equipment, which would save the construction industry millions of dollars … Continue Reading

What You Need To Know About SF’s Green Building Ordinance

By Sheppard Mullin on September 17, 2008 Posted in Environmental Regulations

On August 4, 2008, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom signed a new Green Building Ordinance (“Ordinance”) into law, amending the existing Building Code by inserting Chapter 13C. The goal of the Ordinance is to reduce the city’s carbon emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2012. The Ordinance aims to achieve that goal by phasing … Continue Reading

State Water Board Lifts Moratorium On New Construction in LA Region

By Sheppard Mullin on August 5, 2008 Posted in Environmental Regulations

Responding to an order from the Orange County Superior Court, the State Water Resources Control Board (the “State Board”) has lifted a two-week-old moratorium on new construction in the Los Angeles region. The State Board announced on Friday that it would resume processing new enrollments under the statewide NPDES Construction General Storm Water Permit (the … Continue Reading

State Water Board Imposes Moratorium On New Construction In Los Angeles Region

By Sheppard Mullin on July 24, 2008 Posted in Environmental Regulations

The State Water Resources Control Board (the “State Board”) has effectively imposed a moratorium on new construction within the Los Angeles region, in response to the Orange County Superior Court’s recent ruling in the Arcadia II litigation. The State Board last week published two memoranda interpreting a writ of mandate issued on July 2 in the Arcadia … Continue Reading

No Idling: California Air Resources Board Adopts New Off-Road Diesel Rule

By Sheppard Mullin on June 11, 2008 Posted in Environmental Regulations

In an effort to reduce airborne diesel pollution, the California Air Resources Board has adopted a "no idling" rule for in-use off-road diesel-fueled vehicles, limiting idling for such vehicles to no more than 5 minutes. The new rule will go into effect June 16, 2008. This rule adds to a host of other off-road diesel-fueled … Continue Reading

Summary of Proposed Draft Regulation to Reduce Emissions of Diesel Particulate Matter, and Other Pollutants From In-Use On-Road Heavy-Duty Diesel-Fueled Engines

By Sheppard Mullin on August 21, 2007 Posted in Environmental Regulations

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has proposed a new regulation aimed at reducing emissions of diesel particulate matter (PM), oxides of nitrogen and greenhouse gases from in-use, on-road diesel-fueled vehicles.… Continue Reading

Update to June 15, 2007 Blog: The California Air Resources Board Passes New Regulations Limiting Off-Road Diesel Engine Emissions (13 CCR SEC. 2449)

By Sheppard Mullin on July 31, 2007 Posted in Environmental Regulations

On July 27, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) passed new regulations intended to reduce emissions of particulate matter (PM) and nitrous oxide (NOx) from off-road diesel engines. The regulations require businesses to retrofit or "turn over" their fleets over time. A summary of these regulations was posted on June 15. The final version of … Continue Reading

CARB Proposes New Diesel Emission Regulations (13 CCR SEC. 2449)

By Sheppard Mullin on June 15, 2007 Posted in Environmental Regulations

Recognizing that many industrial businesses in California operate using older, and thus more polluting, off-road diesel vehicle fleets, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has proposed new regulations intended to reduce emissions of particulate matter (PM) and nitrous oxide (NOx) from such vehicles and require businesses to retrofit or "turn over" their fleets over time.… Continue Reading

Army Corps Issues New and Modified Nationwide Permits

By Sheppard Mullin on March 14, 2007 Posted in Environmental Regulations

On March 12, 2007, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released new and modified Nationwide Permits (NWP), which authorize dredge and fill activities that will cause minimal individual and cumulative adverse effects. The revised NWPs include modified versions of several of the existing 43 NWPs, along with 6 new NWPs. The NWPs include new and … Continue Reading

Clean Water Act Update: District Courts on the East, West Coasts Explain and Apply the Rapanos Decision to Adjacent Wetlands and Intermittent and Ephemeral Streams

By Sheppard Mullin on March 13, 2007 Posted in Environmental Regulations

District courts for the Northern District of California and the District of Connecticut recently applied the Supreme Court’s 2006 Rapanos decision to decide whether certain intermittent and ephemeral streams and adjacent wetlands were subject to Clean Water Act regulatory jurisdiction. (Please click for further discussion of Rapanos). In both instances, the courts found that plaintiffs … Continue Reading

Clean Water Act Regulations Do Not Require Numeric Testing Of Individual Pollutants Or Numeric Effluent Limitations For Industrial Stormwater Discharges

By Sheppard Mullin on December 8, 2006 Posted in Environmental Regulations

Divers’ Environmental Conservation Organization v. State Water Resources Control Board (Nov. 29, 2006, D046112) __ Cal.App.4th __ http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions The Court of Appeals held that a permitting agency under the Clean Water Act is not required to conduct a numeric analysis of individual pollutants in industrial stormwater discharges in order to comply with federal regulations. In … Continue Reading