Recent Updates to Federal Environmental and Natural Resource Regulations
On-Demand Webinar | Regulatory Uncertainty and Linear Infrastructure Projects: Where Are We and What’s Ahead?
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
On-Demand Webinar | The New NEPA Regulations: A Practical Guide to What You Need to Know
How Trump's Infrastructure Plan Impacts the Energy Industry
Good morning! This is Akin’s newsletter on climate change policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major climate policy headlines from the past week and forthcoming climate-related events and hearings...more
Updates to federal environmental and natural resource regulations and recent consequential decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court have resulted in a significant shift to the federal environmental and natural resource landscape...more
This morning our nation's highest court agreed to hear an appeal by seven Utah Counties and a railroad company of a DC Circuit Court of Appeals decision. That DC Circuit decision revoked the Surface Transportation Board's...more
This article is part of Womble Bond Dickinson’s Energy & Natural Resources thought leadership series titled Striking the Balance: Permitting Reforms for Mining and the Energy Transition. In this series, we’ll explore the...more
REGULATORY ISSUES & UPDATES - Mandatory Climate Change Reporting Requirements Under the New European ESRS E1 - The implementation of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards poses risks for reporting companies,...more
Over two years ago I wrote about a lawsuit filed by a Connecticut-based solar farm developer with a summer home in Martha's Vineyard seeking to enjoin the Vineyard Wind project off the Massachusetts coast. This particular...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
On August 10, 2023, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“NOPR”) proposing to establish an integrated Coordinated Interagency Transmission Authorizations Program (“CITAP Program”) that...more
This US Supreme Court’s administrative and environmental decisions were somewhat predictable for much of the 2022-2023 term. And then they weren’t – the final weeks of the term especially featured some high-drama decisions....more
In Sackett v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a massive blow to EPA's ability to regulate wetlands under the Clean Water Act ("CWA"). Addressing the "nagging question" about the reaches of the CWA, Justice Alito, joined...more
This is a brief roundup of recent federal court environmental and regulatory law decisions from the federal courts over the past few months, including the much anticipated ruling in Sackett, et ux., v, Environmental...more
A group of Mississippi municipalities and associations filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court (S.D. Miss.) against the United States Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) for allegedly violating the National...more
A United States District Court (District of Columbia) (“Court”) in a March 4th Opinion addressed the Farm Service Agency’s (“FSA”) compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). See Dakota Rural Action, et...more
The United States House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources (“Committee”) is holding a hearing today addressing the following legislation: Building United States Infrastructure through Limited Delays and...more
The Buffalo River Watershed Alliance (“BRWA”) filed a February 21st Complaint for Vacatur of Illegal Agency Decision, Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) against the United States Forest Service (“Forest Service”)...more
If “Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” It’s been a quiet term thus far for the Supreme Court, due in part to the hearing of oral arguments in many contentious cases. Below is a brief summary of some of the recent...more
These days, environmental policy is often established indirectly. While “Schoolhouse Rock” may have taught some of us “How a Bill Becomes a Law,” its insights are less relevant in the current era where things like purportedly...more
This alert looks at developments in environmental law that were at the forefront in 2022; the trend is expected to continue into 2023 as the Biden administration continues to act on its regulatory initiatives in the energy...more
The Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) published in the January 9th Federal Register a document titled: National Environmental Policy act Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change...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
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (“MDNR”) is public noticing a revised draft of its Missouri Nutrient Trading Program (“Draft”) that was originally announced in April. MDNR states that the document outlines...more
As millions in Florida face the wrath of our warming oceans in the guise of Hurricane Ian, Inside EPA is reporting that enough Democrats and Republicans opposed Senator Manchin's proposal to streamline the permitting of...more
Late Wednesday evening, Senator Manchin released the closely guarded text on his proposal to reform domestic energy permitting. This legislation was the subject of a handshake agreement between Manchin, Senator Schumer,...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (“Eighth Circuit”) in a September 14th Opinion addressed a dispute between the City of Fort Smith (“Fort Smith”) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency...more