Recent Updates to Federal Environmental and Natural Resource Regulations
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In companion rulings favoring offshore wind developers and federal agencies, the First Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed rulings issued by the District Court (D. Mass.) and dismissed challenges brought by two...more
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of two legal challenges to the Vineyard Wind 1 project (the Project). On April 24 and April 25, 2024, the same panel of First Circuit judges issued...more
On March 18, three advocacy organizations and their members filed a lawsuit challenging an offshore wind project against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The...more
On November 13, two advocacy organizations submitted a notice of intent to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The notice letter alleges that the September 18,...more
On Thursday, October 12, 2023, Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted summary judgment in favor of the United States Department of the Interior and Vineyard Wind, and denied...more
Judge Indira Talwani of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts has rejected another challenge to federal permits and approvals for the Vineyard Wind Project (Vineyard Wind or the Project). Vineyard Wind is...more
The federal government has successfully defended its approvals of the Vineyard Wind project offshore Massachusetts (Project), setting the stage for further decisions as other challenges proceed. Vineyard Wind is the first...more
On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, the federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted summary judgment in favor of the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) and Vineyard Wind, and denied summary...more
The federal government’s offshore wind program notched another important victory on March 9, 2023, when the United States District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the New York Bight...more
New York Bight Lease Sale Under Attack - A New Jersey-based nonprofit organization, Save Long Beach Island, and its president sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in January 2022. They are asserting...more
Interest in US offshore wind development is at an all-time high, as the Biden Administration and lawmakers continue to create renewable energy project incentives and opportunities, shareholders demand action from companies to...more
Overview of the current energy mix, and the place in the market of different energy sources - Due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. total energy consumption in 2020 is on pace to decline for a second straight...more
On July 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, in Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility v. Hopper, Acting Director of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, reviewed the District Court’s dismissal...more
In a decision that has been nearly thirteen years in the making, on March 14, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service...more