The first part of the 31st annual session of the International Seabed Authority (“ISA”) Council was held in Kingston, Jamaica from 9 to 19 March 2026. After more than a decade of negotiations, mounting geopolitical pressure...more
3/26/2026
/ Biodiversity ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Foreign Policy ,
Geopolitical Risks ,
Impact Assessments ,
Investment ,
Minerals ,
Mining Contracts ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Resource Extraction ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sustainability ,
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) is “accelerating” its efforts to revive deep-sea mining, regulated in the United States under the once-dormant Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (“DSHMRA”). We...more
2/9/2026
/ Comment Period ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Government Agencies ,
License Applications ,
Mineral Exploration ,
Minerals ,
Mining ,
Moratorium ,
National Security ,
NEPA ,
NOAA ,
Permits ,
Public Comment ,
Public Hearing ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Supply Chain ,
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
Certain areas of the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction are rich in deposits of polymetallic nodules, which contain concentrations of critical minerals important for industrial development such as nickel, copper,...more
2/2/2026
/ Environmental Impact Statements ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Agencies ,
International Waters ,
Mineral Exploration ,
Minerals ,
Mining ,
NEPA ,
NOAA ,
Permits ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
On January 21, 2026, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) published a final rule consolidating the process for U.S. companies to obtain exploration licenses and permits for commercial recovery of...more
1/28/2026
/ Comment Period ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Review ,
Executive Orders ,
Final Rules ,
International Waters ,
Mineral Exploration ,
Mineral Extraction ,
Minerals ,
Mining ,
NEPA ,
NOAA ,
Permits ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Resource Extraction ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration
On January 15, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a proposed rule to revise its regulations governing the water quality certifications that states may issue under Section 401 of the Clean Water...more
1/23/2026
/ Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Permits ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Section 401 ,
State and Local Government ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Water ,
Water Pollution ,
Waters of the United States
A federal district court in Louisiana has rejected as unlawful President Joe Biden’s withdrawal in early January 2025 of historically large portions of the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”) from eligibility for leasing of oil...more
On Wednesday, September 17, Brandon Tuck, Jeremy Marwell, and Andrew Beach will present a CLE entitled “New NEPA” and What It Means for Project Development, Permitting, and Litigation. This program will offer practical...more
As part of our ongoing monitoring of international and domestic legal developments, this article provides an update on the International Seabed Authority’s (“ISA”) Council Part II of the 30th Session and the National Oceanic...more
On July 3, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Army Corps”), and the Departments of Energy (“DOE”), Interior (“DOI”), Transportation (“DOT”),...more
7/14/2025
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
CEQ ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Energy Regulatory Commission ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
FERC ,
Government Agencies ,
Guidance Documents ,
Judicial Review ,
NEPA ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
USDA
The federal government is continuing to implement President Donald Trump’s Unleashing American Energy mandate to promote domestic energy and infrastructure projects. On June 18, 2025, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...more
6/24/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Government Agencies ,
Oil & Gas ,
Permits ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
On June 17, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a proposed rule that, if finalized, would repeal all greenhouse gas (“GHG”) standards for the power sector. Further, the principles underlying the...more
In the first major National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) case to reach the Supreme Court in almost two decades, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision on May 29, 2025, in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v....more
6/2/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Government Agencies ,
Infrastructure ,
Judicial Review ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Railroads ,
SCOTUS ,
Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v Eagle County Colorado ,
Statutory Interpretation
On May 22, 2025, the House passed budget reconciliation legislation referred to as “The One, Big, Beautiful Bill” (the “Bill”). As currently written, the Bill would reshape key aspects of federal energy policy by targeting...more
5/27/2025
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
FERC ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Natural Gas ,
NEPA ,
New Legislation ,
Oil & Gas ,
Permits ,
Pipelines ,
Regulatory Reform
A series of recent actions undertaken by President Biden, near the end of his term, and President Trump, in the early days of his presidency, have called into question a key issue under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act...more
3/27/2025
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of the Interior ,
Energy Policy ,
Executive Orders ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
On February 19, 2025, the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) released a pre-publication version of an interim final rule (the “Interim Rule”) to rescind all of CEQ’s previous and current regulations implementing the...more
2/24/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Final Rules ,
NEPA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
In his first two days in office, newly inaugurated President Donald J. Trump signed a flurry of Executive Orders, including several aimed at supporting the traditional energy industry. The Unleashing American Energy Executive...more
2/17/2025
/ CEQ ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Agencies ,
NEPA ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
After little more than a week in office, there is still plenty of speculation, but priorities of the Trump 2.0 Administration are becoming more concrete. Issuance of three energy-focused Executive Orders (Unleashing American...more
1/30/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Alaska ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
FERC ,
Infrastructure ,
NEPA ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
The incoming Trump Administration is expected to prioritize the rollback of Biden-era endangered species regulations, aiming to reduce the regulatory burden on land-intensive businesses and enhance energy independence. This...more
1/10/2025
/ Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Wildlife Protection
On December 17, 2024, the Office of Fossil and Carbon Management of the Department of Energy (“DOE”) released the long-awaited Liquefied Natural Gas (“LNG”) Export Study (“Study”). The Study was released 11 months after the...more
1/8/2025
/ Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Exports ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Natural Gas ,
Public Comment
In 2020, President-elect Donald Trump promised to ensure that “America’s most critical infrastructure projects” would not be “tied up and bogged down by an outrageously slow and burdensome federal approval process.” Much of...more
12/19/2024
/ Audubon Society ,
Biden Administration ,
CEQ ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
National Environmental Policies ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rescission ,
Trump Administration
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