Yesterday, I gave an informal presentation to the Natural Resources Section of the Hawaii State Bar Association about the case currently pending in the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the ability of property owners to challenge a determination by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that their property contained “wetlands” under the Clean Water Act, Sackett v.
Tuesday State Bar Session On Sackett v. EPA
A reminder: on Tuesday, November 1, 2011, from noon to 1:00 p.m., I’ll be making a presentation to the Natural Resources Section of the Hawaii State Bar Association about the case currently pending in the U.S. Supreme Court about the ability of property owners to challenge a jurisdictional determination by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Links From “Regulatory Takings: Looking Back And Looking Forward” (Cal. State Bar Yosemite Conference)
Here are the links to the cases and other items discussed today at the session Regulatory Takings – Looking Back and Looking Forward at the Cal State Bar’s Environmental Law Section’s Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite.
These cases are also in your written materials.
Merits Brief In Sackett: Can A Property Owner Contest EPA’s Assertion Of “Wetlands” Jurisdiction?
What is a property owner to do when faced with a regulatory agency asserting that its permission must be obtained before the property can be used, when the property owner believes that the agency does not have authority over her land?
According to the agency, the property owner has two choices: she can either file
SCOTUS Reviewing State Court’s Land Grab In Navigability Case
The top-side brief and supporting amicus briefs have been filed in a case we’ve been following, PPL Montana v. Montana, No. 10-218 (cert. granted June 20, 2011).
In PPL Montana, LLC v. State of Montana, 229 P.3d 421 (Mont. Mar. 30, 2010), the Montana Supreme Court disregarded 100 years of private or
Seminar: Ethics, Government Conflicts Of Interest, And The First Amendment
Mark your calendars: as part of the Fall Meeting of the ABA’s Section of State & Local Government Law in Tucson, on Thursday, September 22, I’ll be on a panel discussing the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Nevada Commission on Ethics v. Carrigan, “Ethical Considerations for Municipal Attorneys: Caught in the Crosshairs Reconciling the
“The numbers are from [the appellants’] motion for attorney’s fees. Their mathematics appears to be incorrect. But who is going to care about a few dollars?”
Not the California Court of Appeals, Second District. Edna Valley Watch v. County of San Luis Obispo, No. B223653 (Aug 2, 2011), slip op. at 2, n.2 .
Oh yeah, the holding: administrative proceedings are “actions” thus entitling parties — opponents of the building of a church — who participated in those proceedings and
SCOTUS Agrees To Hear Wetlands Case: Immediate Judicial Review, Or Death By A Thousand Days?
It’s a well-worn refrain, heard often in the environmental context: “The property owner wouldn’t be in this fix if she just ___________.” Fill in the blank with “commissioned an Environmental Assessment” — or “Environmental Impact Statement,” or “applied for a development permit,” or similar.
At first blush, it’s an appealing argument — “Just follow the
Connecticut: Soft Costs Sufficient To Show “Substantial Loss” For Zoning Estoppel
In Levine v. Town of Sterling, No. 18470 (Apr. 12, 2011), the Connecticut Supreme Court held that a property owner need not show that his property was rendered worthless or that he made “capital investment” to prove that he relied on a resolution by the town’s board of selectmen that he could build more
All Aboard? Honolulu Rail Is Coming
As we’ve mentioned here before, the City & County of Honolulu has given the green light to a new public railway, described as “a 20-mile elevated rail line that will connect West O`ahu with downtown Honolulu and Ala Moana Center. The system features electric, steel-wheel trains capable of carrying more than 300 passengers each. Trains