Recent Updates to Federal Environmental and Natural Resource Regulations
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
City of San Diego sues 20-plus companies to force cleanup of PFAS contamination Bullet Times of San Diego - May 11 The San Diego City Attorney’s Office filed suit last Wednesday against more than 20 chemical companies for...more
On February 9, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado found that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when it failed to reinitiate consultation with the U.S. Fish...more
On August 11, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted partial vacatur of an appeal brought by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) challenging a district court decision to vacate and enjoin use of...more
Linear infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines and transportation, have faced a number of regulatory challenges over the last year. Some of these challenges stem from changes in...more
On March 10, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a biological opinion (BiOp) and incidental take statement (ITS) issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) in connection with a...more
Officials call for protection of Redwood City’s salt ponds - The San Mateo Daily Journal – February 19 - Nearly 60 Bay Area political leaders and organizations last Tuesday asked the Biden administration to protect...more
State senators introduce bill to ban hydraulic fracturing in California by 2027 - San Francisco Chronicle – February 17 - State Senators Scott Wiener and Monique Limon have introduced a bill that would halt the...more
Biden picks North Carolina environmental chief to lead EPA - Associated Press – December 17 - President-elect Joe Biden this Thursday selected Michael S. Regan to serve as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental...more
White House directs agencies to relax enforcement - Los Angeles Times – September 9 - A memorandum produced by the White House Office of Management and Budget and sent to federal agency heads last week instructs them to...more
Linear infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines and transportation, have faced a number of regulatory challenges in recent months. Some of these challenges stem from changes in...more
A permitting program that is important to developers and environmentalists is in turmoil after a series of judicial actions in the Keystone XL Pipeline case. ...more
Yesterday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit the decision of a lower court to vacate nationwide permit 12 (NWP 12) until the Corps completes...more
The economy may be stalled, but the use of Nationwide Permit (NWP) 12 just opened back up for non-oil and gas pipeline projects. A recent decision rocked the permitting community as a judge vacated NWP 12 outright because the...more
On Monday, the United States District Court for the District of Montana issued an order amending its previous order, which had invalidated nationwide permit 12 (NWP 12) on the basis that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...more
On April 15, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana issued an order with potentially broad-sweeping implications for energy-related projects across the country. ...more
On April 15, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana issued an order that could impact energy and development projects across the United States. The court granted partial summary judgment in favor of...more
Montana federal court judge invalidates permit coverage for Keystone XL pipeline; could stymie projects across country - Bloomberg Law – April 15 - The U.S. District Court for the District of Montana on Wednesday...more
Benjamin Franklin wrote that “an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” Just over 200 years later, the United States passed a law that put that sentiment into practice in the context of federal government...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 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a proposed rule on January 30, 2020, that narrowly interprets the protections afforded by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The new rule would provide that the MBTA prohibits only the...more
Focus - Environmental groups sue Trump administration for weakening Endangered Species Act - San Francisco Chronicle – August 21 - A coalition of environmental groups sued the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) in...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a guidance memorandum addressing when an incidental take permit may be needed under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act for projects that modify habitat of federally...more
On April 11, 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued a Memorandum titled “Guidance on the recent M-Opinion affecting the Migratory Bird Treaty Act” (the “Memorandum”), giving field advice to its enforcement...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - Reversing course, EPA will not delay an Obama ozone rule - Washington Post - Aug 3 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reversed its effort to delay Obama...more