Publications – Paladin Law Group

Beware of New Environmental Screening Levels

By Kirk Tracy In January (2019), the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Board (“Water Board”) published new Environmental Screening Levels (“ESLs”) for over 100 chemicals found at sites with contaminated soil and groundwater, an update from the prior ESLs published...

How to survive the PFAS Apocalypse

By Jon Lycett There has been quite a flurry of regulatory activity lately surrounding per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances or “PFAS.” That’s quite a mouthful, but it’s only the beginning: PFAS is a catch-all term for well over 3,000 related chemicals. ...

An Expanded Interpretation of Clean Water Act Jurisdiction

By Kirk Tracy The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Upstate Forever v. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., recently held that “an alleged discharge of pollutants, reaching navigable waters located 1000 feet or less from the point source by...

San Diego Storm Water Update

By Jon Lycett In July 2013, I wrote about the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board’s order updating the NPDES general permit for municipal separate storm sewer systems (“MS4s”). See San Diego Water Board Issues Updated Permit for Municipal...

Aftermath of the Montecito Mudslides – Determining Insurance Coverage and Navigating Policy Exclusions

By Cory Baker Post-Wildfire “Perils” and Property Damage Wildfires dramatically change the landscape and ground conditions, which can lead to the increased risk of flooding even with light rains. Natural, unburned vegetation and soil normally act as a sponge during...

Regulation of Marijuana under AUMA

By Kelli Johnson Overview: Proposition 64, also known as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), was passed into law by the California electorate in November 2016. This article provides a basic overview of the regulation of marijuana under AUMA,...

Court holds that insurer has duty to defend in Rev 973 case

By Brian Paget Paladin Law Group and one its clients had a victory recently: the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California held that Wilshire Insurance Company has a duty to defend its insured in a lawsuit entitled,...

Bona Fide Prospective Tenants – An Expanded Reading of CERCLA’s Brownfields Amendments

By Bret Stone CERCLA[1] has long been the tool of choice for federal regulators to use as a means of forcing cleanup of contaminated properties and is rightly feared by commercial property owners due to the strict, joint and several...

California’s Reaction to the Drought — Statewide Groundwater Management and $7.5 Billion in Water Funding

By Kirk Tracy In the midst of a multi-year drought,[1] California recently passed two major pieces of legislation which are aimed at having significant impacts to water management statewide. On September 16, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed three companion bills,...

Ninth Circuit Requires Scrutiny in Approving CERCLA Settlements Under Consent Decrees With State Agencies

By Kirk Tracy On August 1, 2014, the Ninth Circuit overturned a district court ruling that had granted approval of consent decrees between the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”) and a number of potentially responsible parties (“PRP”) under CERCLA.[1]...