Stoel Rives Deeply Rooted Podcast Season 3 Episode 2: Forest Management, Endangered Species, and Regulatory Frameworks with Galen Schuler, General Counsel for Green Diamond Resources
California has tremendous offshore wind resources and ambitious offshore power goals, but the uncertain rules and regimes for development have delayed implementation of projects. The California Energy Commission (CEC)...more
On September 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued an opinion in Save the Colorado, et al. v. Spellmon. The case arose from various conservation group challenges to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...more
On December 10, 2021, the Biden Administration released the Fall 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda), which is a semi-annual compilation of information concerning regulations and policy...more
We interrupt our usual scrutiny of the courts to focus (mostly) on the important developments in notices and rulemaking issued by and concerning federal regulatory agencies and departments in the past several weeks....more
The momentum behind offshore wind has continued to grow since our February 2021 post on the topic. Last week, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced plans to open seven more offshore wind leases by 2025 off both coasts...more
The Sierra Club and other environmental organizations filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) in the United States District Court for the District of Montana against the United States Army Corps...more
Europe’s offshore wind sector enjoyed a record $31 billion of investment in 2020. The U.S has some serious work to do to catch up. While development of land-based wind and solar projects continues at a rapid pace across the...more
The Ninth Circuit vacated U.S. Department of the Interior approvals for a proposed offshore oil drilling and production facility in Alaska after finding its EIS improperly failed to consider impacts associated with foreign...more
JANUARY 2020 - FEDERAL APPELLATE COURTS - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - El Paso County, Texas, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al. On January 8, 2020, a divided panel of the court quickly granted a...more
On January 20, 2021, President Biden announced his administration will review regulatory actions taken between January 17, 2020 and January 20, 2021 in accordance with an Executive Order titled “Protecting Public Health and...more
Changes in Definitions Section May Create Clarity for Agencies, Ammunition for Opponents - This is the first in a series of eAlerts on revisions to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations published in the...more
On June 17, 2020, a federal court in Colorado vacated an incidental take permit (ITP) issued to the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) authorizing take of the endangered American burying beetle (ABB) that could occur in...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) addressed in a May 18th unpublished opinion whether two federal agencies should have prepared a National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”)...more
A United States District Court (Montana) (“Court”) addressed in an April 15th decision a challenge to the United States Corps of Engineers’ (“Corps”) issuance of Clean Water Act Nationwide Permit (“NWP”) 12 (Utility Line...more
Yesterday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released a pre-publication version of its long-awaited update to regulations governing Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) implementation (Proposed Regulations)....more
The greater sage-grouse is a chicken-like bird that is currently found in 11 western states. For more than 25 years, there has been considerable controversy concerning whether to list the greater sage-grouse for protection...more
The Center for Biological Diversity (“CBD”) sent a July 25th 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue (“Notice”) to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) alleging a violation of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). ...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Court”) addressed in a June 4th Order whether the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) and the United States Forest Service (“USFS”) approval of the...more
On December 13, 2018, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado vacated an eagle take permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) authorizing a construction company to disturb a pair of...more
On November 4, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina granted summary judgment in favor of conservation organizations Red Wolf Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife, and Animal Welfare Institute...more
The Trump Administration issued a document on October 19th titled: Presidential Memorandum on Promoting the Reliable Supply and Delivery of Water in the West (“Memorandum”)...more
Within the past few weeks, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has issued some very significant rulings regarding the construction of new natural gas pipelines. ...more
Late last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service withdrew two environmental policies adopted in late 2016 by the Obama administration that address mitigation for impacts to natural resources. These two policies established...more
On the heels of its notice of federal rulemaking under the National Environmental Policy Act (see our July 2 blog post) and other more modest efforts at reform on the administrative level, the Administration on July 19...more
Another important case was decided by U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on July 6, American Rivers and Alabama Rivers Alliance v. FERC. The Alabama Power Company, whose application to re-license its electrical power...more