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Articles by John Ugai
Litigation Threatens Enforcement of California’s SB 54 Efforts To Reduce Plastic Waste
Competing lawsuits challenge California’s SB 54 as producers navigate new reporting, fee and recycling requirements. Two lawsuits—one filed by numerous state attorneys general claiming that the law is unconstitutional, the other filed by environmental groups arguing that the regulations developed by the state to implement the law weaken it too much—threaten California's landmark law aimed at reducing plastic packing waste in California.
Risks Remain for Housing Developers After Recent CEQA Reforms
Click to enter your existing username and password or create a new account. Click to purchase an individual user subscription with your credit card. Expert OpinionEnvironmental Law The legislation requires compliance with a tribal consultation process, as well as the cleanup of sites impacted by hazardous substance contamination. Motivated project opponents will also still find ways to slow or block projects, particularly through creative litigation claims.
Risks Remain For Housing Developers After Recent CEQA Reforms | JD Supra
On June 30, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law significant reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), seeking to promote housing projects in a state that desperately needs them. Much of the initial reaction was very positive, praising the move as streamlining the approval process and eliminating a key source of risk for housing developers, with respect to project costs and delays.
The Supreme Court's Recent Clean Water Act Decision Forces Local Jurisdictions to Tackle Wetlands Issues | JD Supra
As someone who grew up in Southwest Colorado, Ayden Crosby's great reporting on Silverton's efforts to grapple with wetlands issues after Sackett v. EPA hits close to home and highlights the impacts on local communities who are wrestling with these issues in the wake of the regulatory vacuum created by the Supreme Court's curtailment of Clean Water Act protections.
Wind Project Approvals, Tax Credits Look to Outpace Macroeconomic and Supply Chain Headwinds in 2024
Recent events in the wind power industry, all occurring on a single day, provide a snapshot of the sector’s challenges and opportunities heading into 2024. Ørsted, the world’s largest developer of offshore wind, on Oct. 31 announced the cancellation of Ocean Wind 1 and 2, two 1,000-MW-plus projects off the coast of New Jersey.
[Webinar] New Statewide Winery Order: What Wineries Need to Know - May 26th, 10:00 am - 11:00 am PT | JD Supra
May 26th, 2021 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PT The new statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs) for winery process water (Winery Order) adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board have spread concern across the wine industry. The Winery Order is applicable to wineries which discharge winery waste to land for disposal or reuse. Examples include process water systems which reuse treated process water for irrigation or discharge to a subsurface disposal system.
Key PFAS Regulatory Standards Set in California | JD Supra
In support of California’s efforts to investigate and evaluate the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) has released interim final Environmental Screening Levels (ESLs) for two key prevalent PFAS compounds: perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA).
New Screening Levels for Key PFAS Chemicals Will Spur Regulatory Action at Contaminated Sites | JD Supra
In support of the State Water Resources Control Board’s (State Board) efforts to investigate and evaluate the public health effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) has released interim final Environmental Screening Levels (ESLs) for two of the most prevalent PFAS compounds: perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA).
Supreme Court Ruling Expands Reach of Clean Water Act NPDES Permitting | JD Supra
Read the article on California Ag Net, here. In April, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling clarifying the reach of the federal Clean Water Act. The Court decided that a discharge of pollutants from a point source to groundwater is subject to regulation under the act, if the discharge is the “functional equivalent” of a discharge to waters of the United States (which include rivers, streams, creeks, lakes, and other surface waters).
Supreme Court Ruling Expands Reach of Clean Water Act NPDES Permitting
In April, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling clarifying the reach of the federal Clean Water Act.The Court decided that a discharge of pollutants from a point source to groundwater is subject to regulation under the act, if the discharge is the “functional equivalent” of a discharge to waters of the United States (which include rivers, streams, creeks, lakes, and other surface waters).
Major Supreme Court Ruling Expands Reach of Clean Water Act NPDES Permitting to Certain Discharges to Groundwater | JD Supra
Updated: May 25, 2018: JD Supra is a legal publishing service that connects experts and their content with broader audiences of professionals, journalists and associations.
Perfluorinated Compounds: No Longer an Emerging Contaminant | JD Supra
Updated: May 25, 2018: JD Supra is a legal publishing service that connects experts and their content with broader audiences of professionals, journalists and associations.
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