Litigation

A recent decision by EPA's Environmental Appeals Board on wetlands penalties may expand the agency's ability to gather information about a defendant's finances when the party claims an inability to pay a fine, according to an attorney familiar with the case.

Pending federal bills to split the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals are akin to "anti-environmental gerrymandering of the courts," environmentalists who oppose the measure charge. But sponsors of the bills deny any political or ideological motivation behind the push to split the court, which they argue has become too big to efficiently administer justice.

The Coalition for Clean Air is eyeing a lawsuit against the Port of Long Beach over an environmental impact report (EIR) for a proposed pier expansion project. The group argues the EIR contains "bogus" estimates that grossly underestimate the pollution impacts of the project, which it claims will make the terminal the largest on the West Coast if not the nation.

Environmentalists say they feel "betrayed" by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for supporting a ballot initiative to limit private enforcement of unfair business competition laws, and accuse Schwarzenegger of siding too often with industry on major policy issues. These environmentalists say they were misled by Schwarzenegger into thinking he favored a legislative solution to the state's troubled unfair competition statute and now doubt the governor ever had any intention of working on a bill to advance a compromise.