Key Points A permitting agency's blanket designation of an entire category of permit decisions as ministerial for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) may be held to be improper if the agency has the ability to modify or deny the permit based on any concern that may be examined under CEQA review. Courts will afford a larger degree of deference to an agency’s designation of a single permit decision as ministerial on a case-by-case basis ...
A wastewater facility on the island of Maui, Hawaii, collects sewage, treats it, and pumps the treated water through underground wells. The water then travels half a mile, through groundwater, into the Pacific Ocean. Must the facility possess an EPA permit to do this? In April, the Supreme Court of the United States answered this question with a rather drawn-out "maybe ...
For the past decade or so, the regulated community and federal courts alike grappled with the outer reaches of the Clean Water Act (CWA) point source permitting program. The core of the program—the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)—is clear enough. Under the NPDES program, discharges from point sources to navigable waters (what qualifies as “navigable waters,” i.e ...
When crafting a liquidation or “pass-through” agreement for a subcontractor claim against the government, the key provision from the prime contractor’s perspective is a release from any liability for the subcontractor’s claim with the exception of amounts recovered from the government related to that claim ...
On 25 August 2020, “The Temporary Measures For Reducing The Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Bill 2020” (“Covid-19 Bill 2020”) was passed by the Dewan Rakyat. When will the Covid-19 Bill 2020 come into operation? The Covid-19 2020 Bill comes into operation on the date published in the Gazette. However, it will have a retrospective effect and will be deemed to have come into operation on the first day of the Movement Control Order i.e ...
COVID-19 and the measures to mitigate the disease have had an enormous impact on people’s lives and on many sectors of the economy. In response, with regard to lease agreements and other forms of commercial use of real estate premises, the Portuguese legislature decided to introduce exceptional rules for situations of late payment of rent and other payments under said agreements ...
Article previously published in insider.co.uk Why are we not treating climate change like the pandemic? The COVID-19 pandemic has received 24/7 media coverage across the globe, and with good reason. Coronavirus has had a catastrophic impact, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, devastating our economies and materially changing the lives of millions as we try to adapt to the profound societal changes it has inflicted ...
The Hong Kong Money Authority (HKMA) published a White Paper on 30 June 2020 to set out its recommendations and supervisory expectations on green and sustainable banking around four areas: governance, strategy, risk management and disclosure. The HKMA advised AIs which are subsidiaries of international banks to assess relevance of any parent bank’s climate policy in the context of its Hong Kong operations and ensure that local specialties are addressed ...
In May 2020, the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA), the Loan Market Association (LMA) and the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) jointly published two guidance papers on green loan principles and sustainability linked loan principles, seeking to address some of the most frequently asked questions about green loans and sustainability linked loans (SLLs) ...
On 27 July 2020, the Centre for Health Protection reported a large-scale outbreak cluster on a construction site at the Peak with 13 workers of Kin Shing (Leung’s) General Contractors Limited being infected with COVID-19. Over 100 people work in the same construction site on a daily basis ...
The real estate sector is facing numerous economic challenges. The property and casualty markets are hardening, while tenants are looking for rent concessions. Meanwhile, moves by some businesses to allow more working from home could significantly reduce demand for office space. When insurance expenses are increasing, a captive may be used to stabilise premium costs by increasing deductibles and insuring the deductibles in the captive ...
The High Court has left the door open for a negligence claim to be pursued against a UK company on behalf of a shipyard worker who fell to his death dismantling an oil tanker at a Bangladeshi yard.1 The vessel had been sold to a buyer on terms requiring it to be scrapped in an environmentally sound manner and in accordance with good health and safety practices ...
This is a briefing on the CIAC Memorandum Circular No. 01-2020 dated June 10, 2020,1 a COVID-19 related issuance. A. Authority to Hold Virtual Proceedings B. No Change in the Deadline for the Issuance of Final Awards C. In-Person Proceedings D. Conduct of Virtual Proceedings ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CIAC’s Memorandum Circular No ...
The San Francisco Emergency Ordinance on cleaning commercial office buildings larger than 50,000 square feet and tourist hotels was signed by the Mayor on July 17th, becoming effective immediately upon her signature. As noted in a prior Buchalter Client Alert, there are many problems with this Ordinance and, unfortunately, none of those problems were corrected before it was signed into law ...
Key Points New CEQ rule updating NEPA to go into effect September 14, 2020. Development and other projects funded, assisted, or regulated by federal agencies will receive less scrutiny in the future. Highlights The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a final rule to update its regulations for federal agencies implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) ...
On July 15, 2020, the Kentucky Community Property Trust Act (the “Act”; codified at KRS 386.620 et seq.) became effective, instituting an elective community property regime under Kentucky law. The intent of the Act is to permit spouses to receive a stepped-up basis for federal income tax purposes at the death of the first spouse in 100 percent of the property they have elected to treat as community property ...
By means of Ordinary Resolution No. 675/2020 dated July 8th, 2020 (“Ordinary 675”), the Ministry of Energy established the criteria of the requests of Unique Collective Permits applicable to companies with power generation businesses in the context of the transit instructions issued by the sanitary authority due to the COVID-19 outbreak ...
The European Commission (“EC”) is collecting data and feedback from stakeholders about the European Union’s (“EU”) current rules on packaging and packaging waste. Based on these insights, it will propose an amendment to the current rules that aim to ensure a properly functioning market for packaging recycling and diminishing packaging waste ...
July 10, 2020 By: John Epperson The State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) released a draft of its General Waste Discharge Requirements for Winery Process Water (“Draft WDR”) on July 3, 2020 for public comment. Comments will be accepted by the SWRCB until August 5, 2020. California wineries should review the Draft Order carefully to determine whether they will be subject to its requirements and, if so, how it will impact their operations ...
The State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) released a draft of its General Waste Discharge Requirements for Winery Process Water (“Draft WDR”) on July 3, 2020 for public comment. Comments will be accepted by the SWRCB until August 5, 2020. California wineries should review the Draft Order carefully to determine whether they will be subject to its requirements and, if so, how it will impact their operations ...
A ship may be arrested in Malaysia as long as the claim of the arresting party falls under any of the provisions of Section 20(2) and Section 21 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 of England and Wales.Any party that wants to arrest a ship in Malaysia must strictly comply with Order 70 of the Rules of Court 2012 (the ROC 2012), which governs admiralty proceedings in the High Court.On the arrest of a ship, it will not be allowed to work without the sheriff's express permission ...
During these unprecedented times, developers all over the world are actively looking for solutions to deal with underperforming real estate. For developers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), real estate investment funds (otherwise known as REITs) may offer a solution to the problem. A REIT is a public or private investment fund which is established to invest a certain percentage (as stipulated by law) of its assets in real estate ...
A recent opinion, 731 Market Street Owner, LLC v. City and County of San Francisco (Cal. Ct. App., June 18, 2020, No. A154369) 2020 WL 3285962 (“731 Market Street Owner”), issued by a California Court of Appeal in San Francisco provides some relief to San Francisco building owners ...
On July 4, Board of Directors Resolution No. 00010-2020-OEFA/CD adopted the Regulation of the Electronic Box System of the Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (OEFA), regulating, among other aspects, the following: Mandatory use of the electronic box system to take notice of administrative acts and proceedings issued by the OEFA ...
The regulations of the legal framework for foreigners in Portugal and the procedure and rules to be followed by applicants for Investment Residence Permits (normally referred to as “Golden Visas” or “ARIs”), provide for a large number of investment models within the eight types of investment activity with the following specifics. Investment activities a) Transfer of capital of at least EUR 1,000,000 ...
