On September 30, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected a challenge to the decision of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to withdraw a proposed listing of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard, a species found in many oil and gas producing areas, as an endangered…
On September 26, 2014, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, holding that Columbia Gas Transmission Company, an interstate natural gas company regulated by FERC, has the right of eminent domain granted by…
On September 19, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that California Senate Bill 990 violates the Constitutional doctrine of “intergovernmental immunity” because it directly regulates the activities of the US Department of Energy in violation of the Supremacy Clause. S.B. 990 prescribes state radioactive cleanup…
Four energy companies – Pathfinder Renewable Wind Energy, Duke-American Transmission, Dresser-Rand, and Magnum Energy – have jointly proposed an $8 billion plan to supply Los Angeles with more than twice the amount of electricity generated by the Hoover Dam. According to Duke Energy, the proposal would require construction of “one…
UPDATE: Applications for the Position of the Registrar of Contractors must be received by 5:00 p.m. PST on November 17, 2014 and must include all required information. The California Contractors State License Board invites applications for the position of Registrar of Contractors. The Registrar of Contractors is responsible for, among…
On September 18, 2014, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided another Deepwater Horizon case. The case is United States v. Transocean Deepwater Drilling, Inc., and involves the statutory authority of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) to issue administrative…
United States Supreme Court decisions provide guideposts for the exercise of environmental permitting and enforcement power by state and federal authorities. Whether a particular facility can be permitted often determines whether it can be built or modified after it has been constructed. In addition, a decision such as the Court’s…
On September 15, 2014, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) released its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Proposed Rule“) implementing President Obama’s Executive Order 13665 (“EO 13665“) (April 8, 2014), banning federal contractors from taking adverse action against employees and applicants who discuss their pay. EO 13665 instructs that,…
A new California law effective July 1, 2015 requires employers to provide at least 3 paid sick days per year. Workers covered by valid collective bargaining agreements meeting certain requirements are exempt, but contractors should review their sick leave policies for all employees to ensure they are in compliance. Please…
On September 4, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision rejecting the argument that a Clean Water Act (CWA) “permit shield” required the dismissal of a CWA citizen suit. The case is Alaska Community Action on Toxics, et al. v. Aurora Energy Services, LLC;…