San Francisco Baykeeper v. California State Lands Commission

The California Court of Appeal ruled that the California State Lands Commission had complied with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when it authorized continued dredge mining of sand from sovereign lands under the San Francisco Bay, but remanded to the commission for consideration of whether sand mining leases were a proper use of public trust property. The court’s analysis of CEQA compliance did not address the environmental impact report’s (EIR’s) consideration of greenhouse gas emissions, but the court noted that the final EIR identified the selected alternative as environmentally preferable in part because not continuing the dredging likely would require the Bay Area construction industry to obtain sand from more distant locations, which would lead to increased air emissions, including greenhouse gas emissions.