Recent Updates to Federal Environmental and Natural Resource Regulations
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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
Last month, Judge John Hunderaker held that the Endangered Species Act requires EPA to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service before issuing recommended water quality criteria. ...more
The United States District Court for the District of Arizona (“Court”) addressed in an August 18th Order an alleged violation by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”)....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an opinion on June 16, 2023, speaking to several important issues in administrative law. Confronting a challenge under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),...more
The Center for Biological Diversity (“CBD”) filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona against the United States Environmental...more
On March 4, 2021, the US Supreme Court held that draft biological opinions prepared by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) were subject to the deliberative process privilege...more
California approves ambitious new plan to deal with climate change and sea-level rise - San Francisco Chronicle – February 26 - The state's Ocean Protection Council, the cabinet-level policy body within the California...more
The State of California recently sent a 60-day notice of intent to sue to the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior and concurrently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California...more
On May 16, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was seeking comment on its Draft Revised Method for National Level Endangered Species Risk Assessment Process for Biological Evaluations of...more
Deregulation was one of the primary promises of President Trump’s campaign, and in 2018, the administration continued to roll back environmental regulation. The recent shutdown of the federal government has slowed...more
The Center for Biological Diversity (“CBD”) submitted a January 7th document to the National Marine Fisheries Service and United States Fish and Wildlife Service (collectively “Services”) titled: Petition for Rulemaking to...more
On October 16, 2017, the now former Administrator of EPA, Scott Pruitt, issued a memo to the agency directing steps intended to end what has been known pejoratively as “sue and settle” – the practice of suing agencies,...more
On January 31, 2018, Scott Pruitt, the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced the establishment of an Interagency Working Group to Coordinate Endangered Species Act (ESA) Consultations for...more
On April 11, 2017, the United States District Court for the District of Oregon ruled on parties’ objections to a federal magistrate judge’s findings and recommendations in a case challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection...more
Two noteworthy cases have recently been issued by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The two cases address: (1) the interplay between the Federal...more
On November 1, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its Final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticide General Permit for Point Source Discharges from the Application of...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - 15 states sue to block enforcement of Obama administration climate change rules: Bloomberg - Aug 13: Fifteen states led by coal-rich West Virginia – but not including California - asked...more
On June 15, 2015, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Congressman Rob Bishop (R-Utah), Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, sent a...more
In Center for Biological Diversity v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 11-cv-00293-JCS, plaintiffs alleged that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violated section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by failing to...more
In Center for Biological Diversity v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 11-cv-00293, plaintiffs sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), alleging that EPA’s oversight of pesticide ingredients, including trifluralin,...more
On February 26, in a reprise of its partially successful assault on Oregon water quality standards, Northwest Environmental Advocates sent a Notice of Intent to Sue EPA for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and...more