…the Supreme Court’s opinion, isssued today, in Los Angeles County Flood Control Dist. v. NRDC, No. 11-460 (Jan. 8, 2013), in which the Court held that “the flow of water from an improved portion of a navigable waterway into an unimproved portion of the very same waterway does not qualify as a discharge
Environmental law
Guest Post: Regulatory Takings, Texas Groundwater, And Hydrofracking
William W. Wade, Ph.D., a resource economist with the firm Energy and Water Economics (Columbia, Tennessee) is a frequent author and speaker on the topic of regulatory takings and is familiar to readers of this blog. (His next gig is a talk on Penn Central and inverse condemnation at the 12th Annual Texas Eminent Domain…
Epstein On Koontz: “Grand Theft Real Estate?”
In “When Government Takes You Hostage,” lawprof Richard Epstein weighs in on the issues in Koontz v. St Johns River Water Mgmt Dist., No. 11-1447 (cert. granted Oct. 5, 2012). In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court will address whether the “essential nexus” and “rough proportionality” standards of Nollan and Dolan are…
Guest Post: Honolulu Rail Remedy – Phasers On Minimal
By Robert H. Thomas on
Our friend Paul Schwind has been keeping us up to date on the progress, vel non, of the federal legal challenge to the Honolulu rail project. Paul’s most recent update was on the remedy hearing, and today he provides us with a breakdown of yesterday’s short ruling on the remedy the court is…
Two Hawaii Supreme Court Cases To Watch
The Hawaii Supreme Court recently accepted cert in two cases worth watching. Our colleage Rebecca Copeland has summaried both and posted the relevant documents over at Record on Appeal.
- Blake v. County of Kauai Planning Comm’n, No. SCWC-11-0000342. This case asks whether a lawsuit challenging the approval of a final subdivision is “ripe”
…
HAWICA: Kawaiahao Church Development Not Exempt From Archaeological Review
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Environmental law, Land use law
In Hall v. Dep’t of Land and Nat. Resources, No. 12-0000061 (Dec. 14, 2012), the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals held that a development proposed by the historic Kawaiahao Church in Honolulu is not exempt from historic preservation review, and the state should have required the preparation of an archaelogical inventory survey prior to…
One More Top Side Amicus Brief In Koontz
We always like reading amicus briefs filed by the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence because they tend to focus on the history of whatever issue they are addressing, and the brief they (along with the Atlantic Legal Foundation and the Reason Foundation) filed in in Koontz v. St Johns River Water Mgmt Dist., No.
Ohio Supreme Court Finds Dep’t of Natural Resources In Contempt For Dragging Its Feet In Compensation
Well, this is unusual, althought it should not be.
In this short order, the Supreme Court of Ohio has held the state’s Department of Natural Resources in contempt for not moving fast enough to compensate property owners whose land had been flooded. (In California, that would be called “normal planning delay.”)
In…
Professor Epstein’s Fed Society Podcast On Arkansas Game – Flooding As A Taking
Worth listening: a short (10 minute) podcast by Professor Richard Epstein, with his thoughts on Arkansas Game and Fish Comm’n v. United States, No. 11-597 (Dec. 4, 2012).
What’s The Beef In California Oyster Dispute?
We’ve talked California raisins before, but the latest is about oysters. Specifically, an oyster farm in a Marin County National Seashore, the Drakes Bay Oyster Company.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar visited the place a couple of weeks ago to see if he would be willing to extend the farm’s existing license, which has been…