For more than 80 years, Nossaman has been home to some of the brightest legal minds and most creative thinkers. We know the land, the law, the courts and the lawmakers and have earned a national reputation for assisting clients in achieving their goals. As a result, public agencies, private corporations, trade associations and non-profits from coast to coast trust us with their environment & land use, endangered species and natural resource law challenges. In our Digging Into Land Use Law podcast, our attorneys and policy advisors, along with some special guests, discuss the development of all things in, on or above the ground.
Unpacking the Trump Administration’s Rescission of the Harm Definition
In this episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Brooke Marcus and Paul Weiland discuss the Trump administration’s rescission of the regulatory definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which impacts how habitat modifications are viewed in relation to the prohibited “take” of protected species.
Brooke and Paul explain the historical context of the definition through the Supreme Court’s Sweet Home decision and its reliance on Chevrondeference, noting that the recent Loper Bright ruling, which overruled Chevron, introduces uncertainty by shifting interpretive authority from agencies to courts. They also discuss the continued habitat protections under ESA Section 7, potential future regulatory and legislative responses, and how agencies, courts and Congress might redefine habitat and species protections in the future.
2 Jun 2026
Mitigation Fees: Where are We?
In this episode of Digging into Land Use Law, Joseph Haney and Ben Rubin dive into the pivotal case of Sheetz v. County of El Dorado and discuss its far reaching implications on the affordability of homes, not just in California, but nationwide. Listen as they unravel how a major legal decision could reshape housing costs through the lens of development, impact fees and local government constraints.
17 Jun 2025
From Permits to Penalties: A Deep Dive into Coastal Development Law
Attorneys John Erskine and Patrick Richard examine California Coastal Act's permitting, enforcement, and development definitions, offering insights for coastal property stakeholders in this interview episode.
20 May 2025
Rewriting the Rules: The Supreme Court's Landmark Decision on Clean Water Act Permits
In this episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Byron Gee, Willis Hon and Sara Johnson review in detail the recent Supreme Court opinion in City and County of San Francisco vs. EPA and its implications for Clean Water Act permittees. They discuss both the immediate fallout of this recent opinion and what may come next from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the world of Clean Water Act discharge permits. As EPA and states conform their permitting regimes with this new case, there will almost certainly be significant impacts to the manner in which wastewater and stormwater permittees must comply with the Clean Water Act across the county.
13 Mar 2025
The Making Conservation a California Way of Life Framework
In the latest episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Lori Anne Dolqueist and Alex Van Roekel discuss in detail the "Making Conservation a California Way of Life Framework" regulations and the impact they may have throughout California. Regulations went into effect at the beginning of 2025 and compliance is required by 2027. Lori and Alex detail this framework that will impact all urban retail water suppliers throughout the state – a category that covers about 95% of California residents.
7 Nov 2024
The Loper Bright Decision - What Really Happened to Chevron and What's Next
In the latest episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Brooke Marcus and Paul Weiland discuss how "Chevron deference" has loomed large over administrative law during the past four decades. The Loper Bright decision overruled Chevron deference, and for those interested in federal administrative law or how this major Supreme Court decision will impact federal environmental and natural resource laws, Brooke and Paul explain the role of Chevron deference pre-Loper Bright, what the Loper Bright decision really did and what that means for federal environmental and natural resource laws going forward.
22 Aug 2024
Unwritten Easements Part 1 | Implied Easements
In the latest episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Nossaman's Karla MacCary and Elinor Eizdi explore the law of implied easements, which is a murky area of the law that was made more clear by a recent California Supreme Court case that gave a property owner exclusive use of a portion of the neighboring property. Implied easements are a creature of equity which can save the value and utility of property where a property owner thought it had an easement, or even thought it owned land it did not. This is the first in a short series of podcasts on easements created without a written grant or reservation.
24 Mar 2024
A New Way to Assess Natural Resource Damages
In the latest episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Nossaman’s Brian Ferrasci-O'Malley and John O’Meara explore the Department of the Interior’s (Interiors) proposed rule to change the way agencies evaluate injuries to natural resources at contaminated sites and how much restoration will cost. They examine Interior’s new “Type A” rule for streamlined natural resource damage assessments, the first changes to that rule in more than 27 years, and discuss who will be affected by the proposed revisions.
20 Dec 2022
Planning and Funding Climate Resilient California Coastal Infrastructure
According to California’s projections, the miles of highways susceptible to coastal flooding in a 100-year storm event will triple from current levels to 370 miles by 2100, with more than 3,750 miles exposed to temporary flooding. Coastal erosion and flooding also threatens California’s rail system and utility infrastructure. In this episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Nossaman’s Shant Boyajian, Liz Klebaner, Ben Rubin and Mary Lynn Coffee discuss state climate resiliency and environmental justice policies relating to coastal transportation and water infrastructure projects and available funding for such projects under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
17 Dec 2021
Southern California Steelhead Trout: Potential Endangered Species Listing Opening Up a Big Can of Worms
Notwithstanding its protected status as a listed species under the federal Endangered Species Act, the Southern California steelhead population is proposed for listing under the California Endangered Species Act. During a time of unprecedented drought and storm activity resulting from climate change, this move to list the species in California is likely to have major impacts on the provision of water and recycled water supply, flood control and storm water treatment and management.
12 Jul 2021
CERCLA at 40: The Monster That Often Eats the Village
Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known also as Superfund, in 1980 to address the horror of sites like Love Canal where discarded toxic chemicals began oozing into neighboring backyards and basements, contaminating air, soil and water, and endangering human health and the environment. Many people were sickened and hundreds of homes that were found to be uninhabitable were bulldozed as a part of the cleanup. Since its enactment, CERCLA has become the predominant site remediation vehicle and its reach has expanded far beyond the typical landfill sites to include factories, waterways, mining sites and recreational areas. Moreover, CERCLA’s impacts extend beyond contaminated sites into many aspects of commerce. In this episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Nossaman Environment & Land Use partners Leslie Nellermoe and Reed Neuman discuss some places to look for the CERCLA monster and offer possible strategies to harness the beast.
9 Jun 2021
Market Rent Adjustment Provisions in Long-Term Ground Leases
In this episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Nossaman Real Estate Group Co-Chair David Graeler and associate Maya Hamouie discuss myriad problems that may arise when a market rent adjustment provision in a long-term ground lease is stated unclearly. David and Maya, along with guest speaker Scott Delahooke, MAI, review a recent market rent adjustment arbitration concerning a long-term ground lease, the key California case law at issue in the dispute, the different valuation approaches taken by the ground lessor and ground lessee, the differences in approaching valuations in California versus other jurisdictions and how the arbitration panel ruled. They also discuss ways to draft rent-adjustment provisions to more clearly lay out the adjustment process and to hopefully reduce the likelihood of litigation.
6 Apr 2021
What’s in a Wetland: An Overview of Federal and State Developments in Defining Jurisdictional Wetlands
In this episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Nossaman Environment & Land Use partner Mary Lynn Coffee and associate Stephanie Clark explore the eternal question – at least under federal and California law – what’s in a wetland? In recent years both the federal government and California have taken steps to provide a specific definition of what is a jurisdictional wetland. In this episode, we give a broad overview of what the current lay of the land is at both the federal and state levels, and offer some predictions for how that might change in the coming years.
1 Mar 2021
The Rights of Land Owners Impacted by Easements
In this episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Nossaman Real Estate partners Simon Adams and Karla MacCary get down and dirty and into the weeds of the rights of land owners that are impacted by easements. It can be important to know how these rights can be established given their effect upon property values. Simon and Karla examine the risk of easement creation and the correct precautions to be taken by owners. They also debate the benefits and burdens of easements by land owners and developers that use these legal rights to enhance the value of their land.
10 Dec 2020
Digging Out of the 2020 Elections
Following a historic 2020 election, with record voter turnout and multiple controversies amid a global pandemic, Nossaman Government Relations & Regulation (GRR) Chair Fred Dombo spoke from Washington, DC with Nossaman GRR Partner Amber Maltbie in Los Angeles about the likely policy consequences of the new Congress and the new Administration. Their conversation covers the potential for introduction of a large infrastructure package, as well as trends that they noted in the election outcome and how the results might impact policy decisions going forward.
28 Nov 2020
What Happens When the Fish Move? A Look at the Practical/Legal impacts of Climate Change on American Fisheries
In this episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Nossaman Environment & Land Use Group Partner Linda Larson and Associate Brian Ferrasci-O'Malley dive into the issues surrounding the effects of climate change on American fisheries and fishery management. The conversation covers how changing ocean conditions are impacting fish species that have been traditionally caught and enjoyed by Americans, what legal tools are available now for fishery managers to manage fisheries sustainably in the face of impacts from climate change and whether legal changes are needed to ensure sustainable U.S. fishing in the face of these daunting transformations.
26 Nov 2020
CEQA Streamlining for Transportation Projects
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires state and local government agencies to identify potentially significant environmental impacts of proposed projects and to reduce those impacts wherever feasible. For large public infrastructure projects, the environmental review process can take years. Such projects can also be held up in the courts, even where the public agency has prepared a full Environmental Impact Report. In this episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Nossaman Environment & Land Use Group Partners Rob Thornton and Liz Klebaner discuss recent legislative and regulatory developments relating to CEQA streamlining specifically as they relate to transportation projects.
20 Nov 2020
Valuation and Damages: Assessing COVID-19’s Economic Impact
Changes in how businesses operate, restrictions on property use and reduced revenues brought on by mandated closures due to COVID-19 have had a major impact on the real estate market and legal proceedings related to it throughout the United States. In this episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Nossaman’s Eminent Domain & Valuation Group Chair, Brad Kuhn, and Grobstein Teeple LLP Director, Will Thomsen, discuss the current state of the market and approaches to appropriately assess short-term versus long-term impacts.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
9,176
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 60 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
64
Social presence
0
YouTube
74
Engagement
68
Contact Digging Into Land Use Law
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Digging Into Land Use Law?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
