San Francisco Baykeeper, Inc. v. State Lands Comm'n

*514 *566 I. INTRODUCTION

For the second time, San Francisco Baykeeper, Inc. (Baykeeper) appeals a decision by the State Lands Commission (SLC) authorizing real party in interest Hanson Marine Operations, Inc. (Hanson) to dredge mine sand from sovereign lands under the San Francisco Bay (Bay) pursuant to 10-year mineral extraction leases (the sand mining project or project). In 2012, Baykeeper filed the underlying action, seeking a writ of mandate to compel the SLC to set aside its approval of the sand mining project. In 2015, a different panel of this court found that the SLC's environmental review of the project complied with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) ( Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq. ), 1 but that the SLC violated the public trust doctrine by approving the project without considering whether the sand mining leases were a proper use of public trust lands. ( San Francisco Baykeeper, Inc. v. State Lands Com. (2015) 242 Cal.App.4th 202 , 194 Cal.Rptr.3d 880 ( Baykeeper I ).)

After Baykeeper I was decided, the superior court issued a preemptory writ directing the SLC to reconsider the sand mining project in light of the common law public trust doctrine.…