On May 20, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued a final rule listing the dunes sagebrush lizard (“DSL”) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”).1 The change in the DSL listing status, which...more
On May 1, 2024, the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) published the final version of Phase 2 of its National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) rulemaking (“Phase 2 Rule”). The Phase 2 Rule is the culmination of the...more
The United States electric grid is becoming increasingly stressed as the nation navigates the energy transition and demand for electricity rises. On May 1, 2024, recognizing the stress on the grid and the need for additional...more
On February 12, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released its final rule revising its permit regulations for “take” under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), an overhaul that has been several...more
On November 16, 2023, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NOPR”) that would amend DOE’s regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) to add a categorical...more
On August 29, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) released the text of a rule further revising the definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) that the...more
9/7/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Construction Project ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Inland Waterways ,
Land Developers ,
Rapanos v US ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
In a concerted effort to meet the Biden administration’s aggressive carbon-reduction goals, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) unveiled a pre-publication copy of a forthcoming proposed rule on August 10, 2023, aimed at...more
8/17/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CEQ ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
NEPA ,
Renewable Energy
Federal agencies are required to conduct assessments under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) before taking “major federal actions,” such as granting permits needed for infrastructure projects and for certain...more
On June 3, 2023, President Biden signed into law the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (“the Act”), which includes modest changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), among other things. The Act amends NEPA in...more
On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Sackett v. EPA, clarifying and narrowing the reach of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). For decades, confusion has persisted...more
5/30/2023
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sackett ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
Significant Nexus Test ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
Environmental Justice (“EJ”) continued to prove a major focus of the Biden administration in 2022. With wide-ranging initiatives across several federal agencies, the administration worked to strengthen enforcement, release...more
2/2/2023
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Clean Air Act ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
FERC ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Natural Gas Act ,
Title VI
In a move that could have far-ranging implications for projects that require federal permits and rulemaking across the entire federal government, the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) published interim...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Army Corps”) delivered on their commitment to issue a new rule defining “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) by the end of 2022, releasing a...more
1/11/2023
/ Clean Water Act ,
Construction Project ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Federal Register ,
Joe Biden ,
New Rules ,
Preemptive Challenges ,
Rapanos v US ,
Sackett ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
Since 2021, the Administration has released several mapping tools addressing environmental and health impacts on environmental justice (“EJ”) communities....more
The Inflation Reduction Act spending bill, reflecting compromise between Senator Joe Manchin and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, contains several measures to bolster offshore wind and other renewable energy development in the...more
In this presentation, panelists will discuss recent developments in the U.S. offshore wind industry including recent progress and projects in the pipeline, challenges to development of U.S. offshore wind projects, key...more
7/13/2022
/ Clean Energy ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Financing ,
Offshore Wind ,
Permits ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Renewable Energy ,
Tax Credits ,
Webinars ,
Wind Power
Offshore wind developers have poured billions of dollars into securing leases in state and federal waters in recent months, with many more billions to be spent developing wind assets to support ambitious state and federal...more
On March 28, 2022, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) published notice (“Notice”) that it is undertaking a formal review of Nationwide Permit (“NWP”) 12, one of over 50 general permits available nationwide that allow...more
The end of February was a very exciting time for the offshore wind power space.
In the three-day New York Bight auction conducted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) beginning on February 23, six companies...more
3/21/2022
/ BOEM ,
Coast Guard ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Site Assessment ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Offshore Wind ,
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ,
Renewable Energy ,
Wind Power
On February 15, 2022, the Biden administration announced a slew of low carbon emissions initiatives for the industrial sector in support of the administration’s goal to achieve a net-zero economy. ...more
Ambitions to decarbonize the power sector by 2035 face a number of significant hurdles — the most intractable of which may be the extent of corresponding highvoltage transmission infrastructure necessary to accommodate the...more
10/25/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Eminent Domain ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Policy Act ,
Energy Reform ,
FERC ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pending Legislation ,
Power Grid ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Public Land ,
Renewable Energy ,
Transmission Grid
The Biden administration has signaled its intention to recriminalize non-purposeful, or incidental, “takes” of birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”). The longstanding debate over the scope of criminal liability...more
3/18/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Renewable Energy ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Wind Power
While the texts of environmental laws do not change without an act of Congress, executive branch agencies that enforce those laws have a great deal of discretion in what kinds of violations to prioritize for investigation and...more
1/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Air Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Natural Resources ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Methane ,
OECA ,
OIRA ,
Performance Standards ,
Renewable Energy ,
Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) Policy
Each new presidential administration brings with it its own set of policy goals and priorities. While the text of the environmental laws does not change without an act of Congress, agencies within the executive branch have a...more
Each new presidential administration brings with it its own set of policy goals and priorities. While the text of U.S. environmental law does not change without an act of Congress, agencies within the executive branch have a...more