On February 20, 2025, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) posted a pre-publication notice on its website of an Interim Final Rule that rescinds its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy...more
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) (the Agencies) recently issued updated guidance for implementing 23 U.S.C. § 139 (Section 139)....more
1/3/2025
/ CEQ ,
Environmental Review ,
Federal Highway Administration ,
Federal Railroad Administration ,
Federal Transit Administration ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Guidance Update ,
NEPA ,
Notice of Intent ,
Public Comment ,
Surface Transportation
In a surprise monumental decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has no authority to issue regulations implementing NEPA and that CEQ’s NEPA...more
11/18/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Audubon Society ,
CEQ ,
Environmental Policies ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Government Agencies ,
National Park Service ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Separation of Powers ,
Statutory Authority
As part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (also known as the debt ceiling bill) in June 2023, Congress made the most significant revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) since the statute was enacted in 1970....more
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published guidance on January 9, 2023, regarding how to evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires...more
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which President Biden is expected to sign into law, contains some important changes to the federal environmental review process for surface transportation projects. Most...more
Title VIII of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), the infrastructure bill recently passed by the U.S. Senate, includes several important amendments to Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface...more
Courts reviewing an agency’s environmental assessment under NEPA may not speculate about potential significant environmental effects that are not supported by the record — they must defer to the agency’s reasonable...more
A federal agency is not required to prepare an environmental impact statement for an action with uncertain environmental effects if the agency reasonably predicts that the effects will not be significant based on available...more
An agency must prepare an environmental impact statement when it fails to address expert scientific evidence that undermines its conclusions about a project’s environmental effects. An agency also must prepare an EIS when...more
The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed comprehensive changes to update its procedures under the National Environmental Policy Act in response to the Council on Environmental Quality’s July 16, 2020, overhaul of...more
A recent Ninth Circuit decision offers guidance on evaluating connected actions and cumulative impacts under NEPA. The court held that an agency can defer consideration of an action’s cumulative impacts in an EIS when the...more
Taking the next step in its efforts to streamline the environmental review process for projects under federal jurisdiction, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published proposed regulations on January 10...more
1/14/2020
/ CEQ ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
NEPA ,
Notice of Intent ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process
An agency’s failure to maintain a historic building—“demolition by neglect”—is not a “project” subject to CEQA. Lake Norconian Club Foundation v. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, No. A154917 (First...more
10/2/2019
/ Appeals ,
CEQA ,
Demolition ,
Department of Corrections ,
Duty to Act ,
Failure To Maintain ,
Historic Preservation ,
Historical Landmarks ,
Historical Rehabilitation ,
Hotels ,
NEPA ,
Statute of Limitations
In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit struck down key portions of a 2018 order by the Federal Communications Commission that would have exempted certain small wireless facilities from...more
8/15/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Amended Rules ,
Environmental Review ,
FCC ,
Historic Preservation ,
National Historic Preservation Act ,
NEPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Tribal Lands ,
Vacated ,
Wireless Facilities ,
Wireless Industry
The Council on Environmental Quality published draft guidance June 26, 2019, on how to assess greenhouse gas emissions under the National Environmental Policy Act, the law that requires environmental impact assessment for...more
A federal court recently prohibited the U.S. Department of the Interior from approving any plans or permits for offshore fracking off the California coast until it complies with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the...more
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers announced a proposed rule to redefine the term “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act on December 11, 2018. The proposed rule, which awaits...more
12/18/2018
/ Bright-Line Rule ,
Certiorari ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Jurisdiction ,
NEPA ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Water ,
Waters of the United States
In the latest decision in the long-running legal saga over the proposed Newhall Ranch development in Los Angeles County, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the Army Corps of Engineers’ EIS and Section 404...more
10/17/2018
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Navigable Waters ,
NEPA ,
Scientific Evidence ,
Section 404 ,
Standing ,
State Department of Fish and Wildlife ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Wastewater ,
Water Quality
The Council on Environmental Quality yesterday issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking inviting input on potential changes to the CEQ regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act, the federal law that...more
On April 9, 2018, the heads of a dozen federal agencies executed a memorandum of understanding on implementation of Executive Order 13807, which directed federal agencies to expedite environmental review and permitting for...more
The Federal Communications Commission recently adopted an order containing sweeping regulatory changes to speed the deployment of advanced wireless services to provide connectivity for innovative Internet of Things, augmented...more
4/17/2018
/ 5G Network ,
Cell Towers ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Assessments ,
FCC ,
Infrastructure ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
NEPA ,
NHPA ,
Statutory Requirements ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications ,
Tribal Lands ,
Wireless Devices ,
Wireless Industry
On February 12, 2018, the White House released a set of proposals to streamline the federal environmental review process for infrastructure projects. The 55-page “Legislative Outline for Rebuilding Infrastructure in America”...more
The Washington Post last week reported a leaked White House document that revealed a far-reaching set of proposals to streamline the environmental review process for infrastructure projects. The 23-page document included more...more
2/1/2018
/ Clean Water Act ,
Construction Project ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Review ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
Funding Requirements ,
Infrastructure ,
Judicial Review ,
Land-Use Permits ,
NEPA ,
Section 401 ,
Statute of Limitations
President Donald J. Trump issued Executive Order 13807, on August 15, 2017, which is intended to accelerate the environmental review and permitting for infrastructure projects that require an environmental impact statement...more
8/28/2017
/ Clean Water Act ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Review ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Land ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Flood Zones ,
Infrastructure ,
NEPA ,
Permits ,
Revocation ,
Trump Administration