Articles

Environment — Clean Water Act We filed our complaint on behalf of Peter and Frankie Smith against the Army Corps of Engineers.  At issue is whether a mostly dry arroyo, 25 miles from the Rio Grande, is a water of the United States.  After acquiring the property, Peter Smith began to clean out years of accumulated waste … ...

Last week, I testified before the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board review panel on the EPA’s recent wetlands connectivity report.  Last week’s testimony follows on PLF’s written comments to the Board in October.  EPA is using the connectivity report to justify a proposed new regulation that will att ...

Property Rights — Extortion-by-the-Bay We had a hearing today in Levin v. San Francisco on our challenge to San Francisco’s new scheme to extract huge chunks of cash from rent-controlled landlords who wish to go out of the landlord business.  For example, two of our clients wish to move downstairs to the lower half of their small t ...

Under the Clean Water Act, the United States Army Corps of Engineers regulates wetlands throughout the nation.  Owners must obtain a permit from the Corps to develop, build upon, or otherwise alter their properties, if those properties contain “jurisdictional wetlands.”  The Corps’ rules specifically exclude from the permit ...

Federal administrative agencies should comply with their own regulations.  Right?  It doesn’t always happen that way. Yesterday, on behalf of our client, Gallagher & Henry, a second-generation, family – owned developer, we filed a lawsuit challenging a determination made by the United States Army Corps of Engineers that Gall ...

Endangered species — Utah prairie dog Oral argument was held this week in People for Ethical Treatment of Property Owners v. United States Fish & Wildlife Service, the case where we are challenging the right of the federal government to regulate the Utah prairie dog, a rodent that lives only in the State of Utah … ...

Murr reply brief filed with Supreme Court Comments filed on wetland permitting rules Endangered species — protecting a frog where it doesn’t croak  Challenge to a “competitor’s veto” law continues Appeal filed in retaliation case  Murr reply brief filed with the Supreme Court  We filed this this reply brief on the ...