In a lengthy published opinion filed March 5, 2026, the Second District Court of Appeal (Div. 6) affirmed the trial court’s judgment adopting a “physical solution,” to be implemented by a watermaster, in a multiparty, three-phase litigation adjudicating competing groundwater rights in a Ventura County basin pursuant to the procedures of Code of Civil Procedure section 830 et seq.  Los Posas Valley Water Rights Coalition v. Ventura County Waterworks District No. 1 et al. (2026) ___Cal.App.5th___.  While the constitutional, statutory, regulatory, and judicial water law rules and principles discussed and applied in the case are important and interesting, I’m not going to write further about them here; rather, in keeping with this blog’s subject matter, I’ll stick to the two paragraphs of the Court’s 45-page opinion that disposed of the novel CEQA arguments raised by a dissatisfied plaintiff and appellant.

The UK is moving forward with its ambition to become a “world leader for sustainable finance” with two connected projects designed to increase the availability of “high‑quality, decision‑useful” sustainability‑related information for investors and other users of financial statements and sustainability reports.  First, the UK government has officially endorsed new voluntary standards for sustainability reporting.  Second…

The “prior converted cropland” exclusion exempts certain agricultural lands from Clean Water Act regulation. The 2025 “waters of the United States” proposed rule seeks to clarify and update this exclusion, making it easier for farmers to demonstrate that their prior converted cropland is not subject to the Clean Water Act. If finalized, the proposal could…

At a public hearing held February 26, 2026, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a resolution to adopt initial regulations implementing California’s landmark climate reporting and disclosure laws, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253) and the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (SB 261), which will require private and public companies whose revenues exceed certain thresholds to report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and disclose climate-related financial risks, respectively. In its resolution, CARB largely adopted the regulations proposed by staff in December 2025.

In a published opinion filed March 4, 2026, the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s post-judgment order denying losing CEQA plaintiffs’ motion for attorneys’ fees brought pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) section 1021.5 under a catalyst theory.  Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles et al. v Department of Toxic Substances Control (2026) ___Cal.App.5th___.  It held the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying fees where the underlying action was adjudicated to a final judgment adverse to plaintiffs and defendant’s voluntary post-litigation actions altering an FEIR’s analysis were thus not performed under threat of judicial compulsion.

There were some significant developments in the corporate sustainability reporting world this week: the EU published the directive implementing the so-called ‘Omnibus 1 package’ (the “Omnibus 1 Directive”), whilst the UK Government published finalised versions of the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (“UK SRS”).

Omnibus 1 Directive

On 26 February 2026, the…

In recent years, there have been major shifts involving the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its implementing regulations as a result of statutory amendments, court decisions, and the Trump Administration’s efforts to streamline federal permitting. For decades, NEPA’s sparse statutory language provided few specifics on NEPA implementation, and the regulatory framework was based on…