The Chukchi Sea off the North Slope of Alaska is a promising place for oil and gas development.  But it's also home to polar bears and walruses.  This clash of interests led to a lawsuit by two environmental groups against the Fish & Wildlife Service, decided by the Ninth Circuit in the Service's – and industry's – favor.

It's not enough that litigants challenging planning and zoning actions prove that the city or county committed a procedural error.  They also have to show the error was prejudicial, that it led to substantial injury, and that if the error had not occurred, a different result would have been likely.

Level II school fees are intended to fund approximately 50% of the cost of school facilities. The other 50% is funded by the state through the Leroy-Greene School Facilities Act of 1998, commonly known as SB-50.

Laws of charter cities trump state law when it comes to "municipal affairs;" but state law is supreme as to matters of "statewide concern." So is payment of prevailing wage for public works a municipal affair or a matter of statewide concern?

Two important, recurring CEQA questions are answered by a recent court of appeal decision in a case involving the EIR for a California State University campus master plan: whether CEQA requires funding of mitigation for a project's effects on public services; and whether an adaptive mitigation program for traffic and parking impacts improperly defers decisions about mitigation.