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
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
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
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
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
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
The concept of “environmental justice” (“EJ”) is not new—the federal government has been working to define and address environmental justice and related human health and environmental effects since the Clinton administration....more
1/13/2022
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Joe Biden ,
Low Income Housing ,
Low-Income Issues ,
NEPA ,
OIG ,
Title VI
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
The United States has tremendous offshore wind energy resource potential with the ability to provide thousands of highly-skilled jobs and large amounts of renewable energy in close proximity to many of the country’s largest...more
2/24/2021
/ Continuing Legal Education ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Review ,
Jones Act ,
Offshore Wind ,
Permits ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Tax Credits ,
Webinars ,
Wind Power
On January 5, 2021, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Army Corps”) released a pre-publication version of its final rule reissuing and modifying a subset of its suite of nationwide permits (“NWPs”), including those used for...more