On July 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (“Fifth Circuit”) vacated a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (“District Court”) that upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s...more
7/29/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Chevron Deference ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Management ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated
This is the second in a series of six eAlerts on the Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule published in the Federal Register on May 1, 2024 (Final Rule) by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The Final Rule...more
On February 28, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) denial of a petition filed by the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association (Cattle Growers) urging...more
As previously reported, on December 6, the Biden Administration published the Fall 2023 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda), outlining the various regulatory and deregulatory actions the...more
12/22/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On Tuesday, September 26, President Biden vetoed two Republican-sponsored joint resolutions, S.J. Res. 9 and S.J. Res. 24, seeking to undo Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the lesser prairie-chicken (LEPC)...more
10/3/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Presidential Veto ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On August 10, 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas Anicia cloudcrofti) under the Endangered...more
8/17/2023
/ Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On July 20, 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a final rule listing the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl (Glaucidium brasilianum cactorum) (“Owl”) as a threatened subspecies with a 4(d) rule under the...more
7/26/2023
/ Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Final Rules ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On May 15, 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued two mitigation policies: one titled, “Mitigation Policy,” and another titled “Endangered Species Act Compensatory Mitigation Policy.” The Mitigation Policy...more
On April 3, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) rejected a petition filed by a group of environmental organizations under section 4(e) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to list the coyote (Canis latrans) as an...more
On February 6, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California sided with the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and plaintiffs Institute for Fisheries Resources, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s...more
2/17/2023
/ Agribusiness ,
Bureau of Reclamation ,
Department of Water Resources ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Review ,
Farms ,
Native American Issues ,
Oregon ,
State Water Project ,
Tribal Lands ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Water
On December 21, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2019 registration of the pesticide “sulfoxaflor” violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the...more
On November 30, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a final rule listing the northern long-eared bat (NLEB) (Myotis septentrionalis) as an endangered species under Section 4 of the Endangered Species Act...more
On October 18, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced 12-month findings on a petition to list three California-based salamander species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA): the Kern Plateau salamander...more
10/20/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On August 23, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a notice in response to petitions seeking to list, delist, or revise the critical habitat of four species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The...more
8/24/2022
/ Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Delisting ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On July 27, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) seeking comment on species conservation banking. Species conservation banking gives developers and other...more
7/28/2022
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Comment Period ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
NDAA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, Services) published a final rule rescinding the Trump administration’s 2020 final rule defining “habitat” for the...more
6/27/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Final Rules ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Weyerhaeuser Company v United States Fish and Wildlife Service
On June 16, 2022, a vote by the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) on whether the Western Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) should be listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) resulted...more
In conjunction with the Biden administration’s renewed focus on environmental justice efforts, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is stepping up its enforcement efforts by increasing facility inspections, thereby...more
On May 5, 2022, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, along with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan, announced a series of initiatives intended to “secure environmental justice for all...more
On February 9, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado found that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when it failed to reinitiate consultation with the U.S. Fish...more
2/24/2022
/ Administrative Review ,
Bureau of Land Management ,
Conservation ,
Consultation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
Mineral Leases ,
Oil & Gas ,
Statutory Violations ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On January 25, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a proposed rule to list the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas anicia cloudcrofti) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act...more