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Golden Gate University School of Law

Environmental Law

CEQA

2010

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Law

Too Late In The Game: How Ballot Measures Undercut Ceqa, Jon Rainwater, Susan Stephenson Sep 2010

Too Late In The Game: How Ballot Measures Undercut Ceqa, Jon Rainwater, Susan Stephenson

Golden Gate University Law Review

Because the regulatory guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") contain an exemption for "the submittal of proposals to a vote of the people," both projects avoided environmental analysis after the board of supervisors and the electorate had given a green light for the projects. In this article, we will examine the possibility that the ballot measure exemption functions as a loophole that weakens the goal of early meaningful, analysis that is at the heart of CEQA. To. put the exemption in a specific environmental and political context, we will look at some of the environmental impacts of the …


Climate Change And The Public Trust Doctrine: Using An Ancient Doctrine To Adapt To Rising Sea Levels In San Francisco Bay, Tim Eichenberg, Sean Bothwell, Darcy Vaughn Aug 2010

Climate Change And The Public Trust Doctrine: Using An Ancient Doctrine To Adapt To Rising Sea Levels In San Francisco Bay, Tim Eichenberg, Sean Bothwell, Darcy Vaughn

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

The predicament faced in San Francisco Bay is confronted in bays and estuaries throughout the nation. Using BCDC as a case study, this Article examines the threats posed by climate change to San Francisco Bay, the relationship between the public trust doctrine and the Takings Clause, and how the public trust doctrine can help public agencies address the impacts of climate change and sea level rise by: enhancing limited permit authority; requiring fees to mitigate the impacts of climate change; addressing the impacts of shoreline armoring; utilizing rolling easements and other legal mechanisms; protecting wetlands, marshes, and salt ponds; implementing …


Sb 115: California's Response To Environmental Justice - Process Over Substance, Caroline Farrell Aug 2010

Sb 115: California's Response To Environmental Justice - Process Over Substance, Caroline Farrell

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This article discusses California’s development of an institutional framework for addressing environmental justice through the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (“OPR”) and the California Environmental Protection Agency (“Cal/EPA”). It will demonstrate the ways these agencies’ foci have been on coordination as well as formulating guidelines. Further, the article’s purpose is to point out that while these guidelines provide important tools for environmental justice advocates, they do not provide any substantive guarantees that disproportionate impacts will not occur in communities of color and low income populations.


Warren County's Legacy For Federal And State Environmental Impact Assessment Laws, Anhthu Hoang Aug 2010

Warren County's Legacy For Federal And State Environmental Impact Assessment Laws, Anhthu Hoang

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

The first part of this article discusses the modern environmental-quality review process at the federal and state levels, starting with a summary of the National Environmental Policy Act and then California’s and New York’s approaches. This is followed by a brief discussion of how each entity addresses environmental justice. The second part describes one community’s difficulties in meeting the required evidentiary showing to demonstrate environmental injustice.