Articles

Author: Brandon Middleton Last week in Fresno, a federal district court heard oral arguments concerning issues related to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's delta smelt biological opinion. One important matter heard by the court was Pacific Legal Foundation's constitutional cause of action — given that the delta smelt is found only ...

Author: Brandon Middleton While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service authored the controversial delta smelt biological opinion, the Bureau of Reclamation is the federal agency responsible for its implementation and severe restriction of water deliveries. In implementing the delta smelt biop, Reclamation failed to prepare a critical Environmental Impa ...

Author: Brandon Middleton Nearly twenty years ago, an Ontario, California company (Kaiser Ventures) proposed the development of a large landfill that would help to address Southern California's critical need for landfill space. But Kaiser didn't just propose an ordinary landfill — instead, it planned on completing the first landfill t ...

Author:  Damien M. Schiff On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Monsanto Co., a case concerning a San Francisco federal district court's nationwide injunction barring the use of Roundup Ready Alfalfa (RRA), a genetically modified form of alfalfa that is resistent to the Roundup herbicide.  The case was broug ...

Author: Brandon Middleton In an important victory for victims of California's regulatory drought, a federal court has ruled that water restrictions meant to protect endangered salmon and other species are based on flawed science.  Given that the federal government has "completely abdicated" its responsibility to use the best ava ...

Author:  Damien M. Schiff In a 7 to 1 decision issued today, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, overturned a nationwide injunction that had prohibited use of Roundup Ready alfala pending completion of a new environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  PLF fi ...

Author: Brandon Middleton Yesterday the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to reconsider its November 2009 decision in National Parks & Conservation Assoc. v. Bureau of Land Management (available here), in which it held that a BLM land exchange with Kaiser Eagle Mountain, Inc., was improper under the National Environmental Policy Act. The ...

Author:  Damien M. Schiff Federal law authorizes agencies to exchange federal lands for private lands.  These land exchanges are often very advantageous to both sides:  the feds get property that they need for environmental or other public purposes, and private industry gets land that they need for business.  Unfortunately, ...

Author: Brandon Middleton I blogged a couple of months ago about the Kaiser Eagle Mountain case, where Kaiser (a private company) has faced an incredible amount of regulatory hurdles in its attempt to help address a significant public policy issue in Southern California.  While Southern California has seen substantial population growth over t ...