Context is Crucial in Examining BLM’s Proposed Rule for Fracking On Federal Land
On February 11, 2025, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Federal Lands, held an Oversight Hearing on “Restoring Multiple Use to Revitalize America’s Public Lands and Rural Communities.”...more
It is clear that these have been busy months for federal environmental regulators, especially those working at EPA, the federal departments and the Council on Environmental Quality. Even the Department of Agriculture has...more
USFS Seeks Comment on Array of Forest Conservation and Resilience Policy Issues - Earlier this week, the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public...more
This article is the second in a two-part series analyzing recent proposals by federal agencies to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas production. The first article addresses the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM)...more
Overview - On November 28, the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed methane rule. This action furthers the Biden-Harris administration’s whole-of-government response to...more
Renewable electricity powered California just shy of 100% for the first time in history Bullet USA Today – May 3 Renewable electricity met nearly 100% of California's demand for the first time on Saturday, officials said,...more
Concurrent with commitments made during the twenty-sixth meeting of the United Nations’ COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland, the Biden Administration released two significant policies aimed at analyzing and curtailing the...more
After years of attempts with varying success to regulate methane emissions from new oil and gas wells, the Biden administration has shifted strategy in proposing a regulatory program covering both new and existing oil and...more
California AG Rob Bonta, New Mexico AG Hector Balderas, New York AG Letitia James, and Washington AG Bob Ferguson sent a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) urging it to consider the full social and...more
Yesterday, the United States Department of the Interior (DOI) held a public forum at which stakeholders from government, industry, non-profit groups and academia discussed their visions for the future of the federal oil and...more
This week, as part of a series of significant executive actions, President Biden issued an executive order directing the United States Department of Interior (DOI) to pause new oil and natural gas leasing on federal public...more
On his first day in office, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order titled “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.” The Executive Order directs the Environment...more
One thing is certain about 2021 – environmental and natural resources-related litigation against the federal government will continue apace and it will impact a range of private projects that require federal authorization of...more
Biden picks North Carolina environmental chief to lead EPA - Associated Press – December 17 - President-elect Joe Biden this Thursday selected Michael S. Regan to serve as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental...more
New EPA rule aims to limit tough clean air measures under Biden - The New York Times – December 9 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this Wednesday completed a rule that could weaken federal authority to...more
As the 2020 presidential campaign made clear, President-elect Biden plans to usher in a sharp shift in policy priorities across the federal government. We anticipate significant changes in the management of federal public...more
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service faces suit over removal of endangered species protections for gray wolves - Bullet The Hill – November 9 - Last Friday, a coalition of conservation groups filed a notice of intent to sue...more
Over the weekend, major news outlets announced that former Vice President Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. Biden and his running mate, Vice Predident-elect Kamala Harris, pledged throughout the...more
President Trump makes agricultural water demands priority for new office - U.S. News & World Report – October 13 - President Donald Trump this Tuesday created what he called a “subcabinet” for federal water issues,...more
EPA chief challenges California effort to mandate zero emission vehicles in 2035 - Bullet Reuters – September 28 - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler on Monday questioned...more
Methane gas has been the subject of yo-yoing regulation—and regulatory roll-backs—over the past few years. Presidential candidate Joe Biden has already vowed to take immediate action on climate change, including “requiring...more
Last week, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers vacated BLM’s rescission of the 2016 methane “Waste Prevention Rule.” Although Judge Rogers found many flaws in the rescission rule, I think that two are key. The first is the...more
Expenses and Delays Continue for Mountain Valley Pipeline, Where Work has Halted Again - "The pipeline’s developers announced that construction now isn’t expected to concluded until late next year at a cost of $5.3 to $5.5...more
A federal district court has ruled that the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) failed to adequately consider climate change when approving a set of oil and gas leases on public lands in Wyoming. The ruling should be of broader...more
The US District Court for the District of Columbia has blocked the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from issuing new oil and gas drilling permits on approximately 300,000 acres of federal land in Wyoming until it adequately...more