Welcome Summer 2012 Legal Interns

by: Bob Wright, Legal Coordinator, Sierra Club, San Diego Chapter

Please join me in welcoming our "Class of Summer 2012" volunteer legal interns to the San Diego Chapter's Environmental Law and Policy Clinic.

Under attorney supervision, law students not only engage in the litigation process, but also participate in coalition building and policy work involving land use, marine and coastal resources, biodiversity, water quality, and global climate change. Some of the issues our interns will focus on include the proposed Quail Brush Power Plant, MW4 Stormwater Permit, and City of San Diego Outdoor Lighting requirements.

Are you an attorney or paralegal interested in volunteering? Unable to volunteer, but can afford to help us financially? To find out more about the Clinic, volunteer, or make a donation, please contact Bob Wright at bob.wright@sierraclubsandiego.org.

Bob is an attorney, member of the Chapter Legal Committee and Chapter Legal Coordinator

From left to right, Greg Pomeroy, Adam Crook, Sara Rogers, Matt Pontes, Benjamin Lindquist, Jimmy Gaffney, and Ryan McFarland (not pictured Jennifer Lai and Anne Nakamura).

Sierra Club Files Amicus Brief in California Supreme Court

by: Bob Wright

On May 31 the Chapter filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in support of Respondent California State Board of Equalization and its application of Emission Reduction Credits ("ERC") in valuing Appellant's Elk Hills Power Plant.

The Appellant argued the value of ERCs and "other similar eco-supportive intangible rights" in a facility’s property tax assessment "could very well have an adverse impacts on the implementation of such environmental programs". The sole purpose of the amicus brief is to debunk this claim.

The brief was written by Spring 2012 legal interns Nate Hausman and Aaron Smith. Well done!