A federal court has thrown out key Endangered Species Act (ESA) analyses of oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico, which will be vacated as of Dec. 20, 2024. The United States District Court for the District of...more
8/30/2024
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Procedure ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
BOEM ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Fully Protected Species ,
Gulf of Mexico ,
Gulf Oil Spill ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Maritime Transport ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Spills ,
Outer Continental Shelf ,
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ,
Pending Litigation ,
Wildlife Protection
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Feb. 15, 2024, issued an order vacating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) approval of the state of Florida's application to assume permitting authority...more
2/20/2024
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Takings ,
Section 404 ,
State and Local Government ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Wildlife Protection
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Nov. 14, 2023, dismissed claims brought by environmental groups challenging offshore oil and gas Lease Sale 261. The court ordered that the sale take place within 37 days of...more
11/16/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
BOEM ,
Department of the Interior ,
Dismissals ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Offshore Lease ,
Oil & Gas
In Alaska Oil & Gas Ass'n v. Pritzker, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently upheld a rule listing two species of seals as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) based on climate change...more
11/30/2016
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Alaska ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Center for Biological Diversity ,
Climate Change ,
Conservation ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Trump Administration
On March 17, 2015, Judge Leon of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a memorandum opinion upholding the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) issuance of an incidental take permit...more
The Fifth Circuit's decision provides important legal and factual guidance for whether an action will cause a "take" under the ESA. While the decision only affects states covered by the Fifth Circuit (Texas, Louisiana and...more
HIGHLIGHTS -
- The proposed regulations would considerably change the regulatory definitions related to "critical habitat" and "adverse modification," increasing agency discretion to designate and protect areas that...more