Weekly News Roundup for December 4, 2015

These are some of the stories we’ve been following this week.

• There has been another major setback for Newhall Ranch, a proposed master-planned community on almost 12,000 acres along the Santa Clara River in Los Angeles County. The California Supreme Court rejected the project’s environmental impact report.

• An Illinois pipeline is closer to reality. The pipeline company, Dakota Access, expects decisions on several motions making their way through the courts later this month. The proposed order recommended that the project be approved and eminent domain authority be granted.

Oil refinery

• Environmental groups sue to force decisions on air pollution permit applications for eight power plants and refineries in Texas. The lack of permits means that the companies are pumping out pollution that is not being measured or regulated.

• Two Texas families are suing oil and gas companies over water well contamination from fracking. Tests showed elevated levels of hazardous chemicals including methane and benzene in the water.

• A case before the California Supreme Court could change how attorneys are paid when handling class action lawsuits, from a percentage of the payout to a fee based on hours worked.

• Three Georgia counties sued Bank of America over predatory lending practices. The lawsuit alleges the bank targeted black and Latino homeowners.

• Expect one more train derailment every couple years if a Vancouver, Washington oil train terminal is completed, according to analysts. While not all derailments result in spills, firefighters along the route the trains would take say they are not adequately trained and equipped for possible spills.

• Florida counties are fighting against state lawmakers that want to limit local governments’ ability to ban fracking, instead giving authority over oil and gas exploration to the state. About 20 Florida counties and almost 40 Florida cities have ordinances banning fracking that would be preempted by the proposed legislation.

• The owner of the Gold King Mine feels he is being victimized by the U.S. EPA. Contaminants from the mine leaked into the Animas River during maintenance by the government agency.

• Commercial property values in Lucknow, India could drop 20% to 60%, thanks to the government changing the formula used to calculate values.