The California Environmental Quality Act, in effect for decadesand updated periodically, has become the basis of much recent legalactivity. Currently, the California Supreme Court is hearing sixCEQA cases, as many as it has decided in the last 10 years.GlobeSt.com spoke with Amy Nefouse, a partner in the San Diegooffice of the law firm DLA Piper who has represented developers andmunicipalities in environmental cases, about the reasons behind theincrease, and what they will mean to developers in California andelsewhere.

GlobeSt.: How do you account for the increasein CEQA-related cases before the state Supreme Court?

Nefouse: There is partly an up-tick in the numberof cases being decided by the Supreme Court, but also an uptick inthe number of cases they have accepted review of and arepending…there has been a steady flow of appellate cases under CEQAfor many, many years. Two big California cases in the last yearhave been related to water supply. It may just be those issues thathave been working their way through the court of appeal are rightfor Supreme Court review.