Context is Crucial in Examining BLM’s Proposed Rule for Fracking On Federal Land
In May 2024, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM or the Agency) issued a final rule updating its renewable energy and right-of-way (ROW) policies. BLM is one of the largest landholders in the United States, with significant...more
The Fluid Mineral Leases and Leasing Process rule (FMLLP), which was announced by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on April 12, 2024, represents a significant update to the Federal onshore oil and gas leasing framework....more
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is reviewing 20 major renewable energy projects — mostly solar — across the West that would cover as much as 193,000 acres of federal land, and generate 13,845 MW of electricity, or enough...more
Asset sales involving the disposition of recreation-focused businesses on federal lands, including ski areas and guiding companies, require the buyer to obtain a new Special Use Permit (SUP) from the U.S. Forest Service...more
Rule would have significant new implications for traditional multiple-use management and conservation uses of public land. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently unveiled its proposed Conservation and Landscape...more
In April 2023, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published a proposed rule that would apply new “land health” standards to all BLM-managed public lands and programs. This new policy will have broad implications for federal...more
The United States Forest Service (“Service”) issued an April 2023 report titled: Mature and Old-Growth Forests: Definition, Identification, and Initial Inventory on Lands Managed by the Forest Service/Bureau of Land...more
The President of the United States awarded pardons to individuals who were convicted of federal offenses involving simple marijuana possession on October 6, 2022. Convictions under state and local law are not covered by the...more
On June 8, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued formal guidance describing BLM’s policy for authorizing use of federal public lands for site characterization, injection, and...more
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has announced the first onshore lease sale for drilling on federal lands since President Joe Biden took office, but the new leases will have different terms than all prior lease...more
This week, as part of a series of significant executive actions, President Biden issued an executive order directing the United States Department of Interior (DOI) to pause new oil and natural gas leasing on federal public...more
Our latest summary of some recent developments in the courts and the federal agencies includes a unique case involving salt marshes adjacent to San Francisco Bay....more
Methane gas has been the subject of yo-yoing regulation—and regulatory roll-backs—over the past few years. Presidential candidate Joe Biden has already vowed to take immediate action on climate change, including “requiring...more
Opportunity for business in Arizona is booming. In a May 2019 ranking in Chief Executive Magazine, Arizona jumped to seventh best state to do business. Arizona is well known for its mineral deposits, but timber was once one...more
Earlier this week, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals partially reversed a district court decision, and ordered the Bureau of Land Management to vacate the NEPA approvals and permits it had issued authorizing the drilling of a...more
The US District Court for the District of Columbia has blocked the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from issuing new oil and gas drilling permits on approximately 300,000 acres of federal land in Wyoming until it adequately...more
In a victory for environmental groups, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a ruling this week with far-reaching consequences for energy projects on federal lands and “the attention the government must...more
On October 1st, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in a case that could have reopened an area of Arizona located north of the Grand Canyon and south of Utah, known as the...more
Buried deep inside the recently passed Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, legislation reviving the formerly expired Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA) offers opportunities for potential purchasers of...more
Report on the agencies’ review of programs provides a roadmap to understanding which energy policies the Trump administration will revise. Several federal agencies have now issued reports responding to Executive Order (EO)...more
Secretary of the Interior Zinke has directed that the Bureau of Land Management immediately begin implementing the recommendations in his Sage-Grouse Review Team’s report, which was was released today, concerning the 2015...more
On Wednesday the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will auction helium stored in its Cliffside Field underground storage facility in west Texas (aka the Federal Helium Reserve). This annual auction under the Helium Stewardship...more
In the continuing saga of the Echanis wind project in Eastern Oregon, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman on April 18 vacated the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM)’s Record of Decision (ROD) on a right-of-way grant...more
President Donald Trump’s recently signed Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth (the Order) includes significant revisions to the regulatory landscape both (1) directly in the case of oil and...more
San Francisco Ordinance Invalidated in Victory for Landlords - In Coyne v. City and County of San Francisco, No. A145044 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 21, 2017), the California Court of Appeal invalidated a San Francisco...more