In a significant move to accelerate domestic energy development, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has announced emergency permitting procedures that will dramatically compress environmental review timelines. Under...more
4/25/2025
/ Department of the Interior ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Expedited Actions Process ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
While the Trump Administration has rolled back federal environmental justice initiatives and taken efforts toward expediting federal environmental review processes, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation...more
3/6/2025
/ Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Pollution Control ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Real Estate Development ,
Renewable Energy ,
SEQRA ,
State and Local Government ,
Surgical Waste
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has issued an interim final rule and corresponding memorandum to heads of federal departments and agencies indicating its intent to rescind prior National Environmental Policy Act...more
2/26/2025
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Audubon Society ,
Biden Administration ,
CEQ ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Executive Orders ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Judicial Review ,
NEPA ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Reform ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Jan. 31, 2025, declined a request to review its decision that challenged the authority of the Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ), leaving open questions...more
2/5/2025
/ Administrative Authority ,
Biden Administration ,
CEQ ,
En Banc Review ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Judicial Authority ,
Judicial Review ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Trump Administration
This Holland & Knight alert provides a summary of President Donald Trump's Wind Energy EO, an overview of the offshore wind leasing process and considerations for current lessees regarding potential outcomes and legal...more
2/5/2025
/ BOEM ,
Contract Termination ,
Contract Terms ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Leases ,
Offshore Wind ,
Outer Continental Shelf ,
Public Contracts ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Renewable Energy
The global bulk chemical shipping industry relies on chemical transportation depots to be responsive to market demands by temporarily holding trailers and containers of chemical products en route to their final destinations...more
1/24/2025
/ Chemicals ,
Clean Air Act ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EPCRA ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Trump Administration
In his final days in office, President Joe Biden has exercised his executive authority to withdraw more than 625 million acres of federal waters from future oil and gas leasing – the largest withdrawal of its kind in U.S....more
1/14/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
BOEM ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Leases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Offshore Lease ,
Oil & Gas ,
OPEC ,
Outer Continental Shelf ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Renewable Energy ,
Trump Administration ,
Waters of the United States
In a surprise decision likely to add further fuel to the fires calling for permitting reform and uncertainty to the environmental review process for federal funding and approval, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of...more
11/27/2024
/ Building Permits ,
CEQ ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Legal History ,
NEPA ,
Permits ,
Phase II ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory History ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Statutory Authority
In response to a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit finding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) updates to its lead paint hazard standards were deficient because they improperly took...more
11/8/2024
/ Abatement ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Lead ,
Lead Paint ,
Public Health ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws represent a pivotal shift in environmental and sustainability compliance, placing the onus of end-of-life product management on Producers, the parties that produce the products...more
10/18/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Data-Sharing ,
Distributors ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
Manufacturers ,
Plastics ,
Product Packaging ,
Self-Certification ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Waste Management
A federal court has thrown out key Endangered Species Act (ESA) analyses of oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico, which will be vacated as of Dec. 20, 2024. The United States District Court for the District of...more
8/30/2024
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Procedure ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
BOEM ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Fully Protected Species ,
Gulf of Mexico ,
Gulf Oil Spill ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Maritime Transport ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Spills ,
Outer Continental Shelf ,
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ,
Pending Litigation ,
Wildlife Protection
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on May 1, 2024, published its Phase II regulations1 under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).2 As part of a multiphase effort to amend the NEPA regulations that straddled...more
For nearly 40 years and in more than 18,000 judicial opinions, federal courts have used the Chevron doctrine to defer to an agency's reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute. Under the doctrine, named for the 1984...more
5/21/2024
/ Auer Deference ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Data Collection ,
Kisor v Wilkie ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Oral Argument ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Relentless Inc v US Department of Commerce ,
SCOTUS ,
Stare Decisis ,
Statutory Interpretation
Chemical transport, tank cleaning and transportation depot operators breathed a sigh of relief in March 2024 when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dropped provisions from a proposed rule when it issued its final...more
5/3/2024
/ Chemical Spills ,
Chemicals ,
Clean Air Act ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
Obama Administration ,
Refineries ,
Risk Management ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in October delivered a clear message to companies involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and their advisers: Acquiring companies will not be penalized for timely voluntary disclosure...more
New York's groundbreaking Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (the Climate Act) is known for being the country's most aggressive climate and clean energy statewide agenda. It calls for a mandated goal of a...more
10/12/2023
/ Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Environmental Conservation ,
Energy Projects ,
Green Energy ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Permits ,
Proposed Rules ,
Water Supplies
The U.S. Supreme Court on May 25, 2023, issued its opinion in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, 598 U.S. ____ (2023). The opinion addresses the definition of "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS) pursuant to the...more
6/1/2023
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Sackett ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rulemaking on Jan. 18, 2023, revising the definition of "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS) within the Corps1 and...more
1/20/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Final Rules ,
Navigable Waters ,
Rapanos v US ,
Regulatory History ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sackett ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial Nexus ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 29, 2020, issued a memorandum titled COVID-19 Implications for EPA's Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program: Addendum on Termination (Termination Addendum), which...more
Jurisdictions across the United States are responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic at the federal, state and local levels by issuing emergency stay-at-home and shelter-in-place orders (Orders) that generally...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 26, 2020, issued a memo called the COVID-19 Implications for EPA's Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program. EPA's temporary policy is that it will exercise...more