Recent Updates to Federal Environmental and Natural Resource Regulations
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On May 20, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a final rule listing the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The listing does not include a designation of critical habitat....more
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
City of San Diego sues 20-plus companies to force cleanup of PFAS contamination Bullet Times of San Diego - May 11 The San Diego City Attorney’s Office filed suit last Wednesday against more than 20 chemical companies for...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
On June 1, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to list the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The proposal distinguishes between...more
The Sierra Club and other environmental organizations filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) in the United States District Court for the District of Montana against the United States Army Corps...more
Recent news that the Democrats flipped both U.S. Senate seats in Georgia’s run-off election means that the Democrats have enough votes to add the Congressional Review Act (CRA)[1] to the tools that could be used to advance...more
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
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
White House directs agencies to relax enforcement - Los Angeles Times – September 9 - A memorandum produced by the White House Office of Management and Budget and sent to federal agency heads last week instructs them to...more
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) issued a September 3rd final rule reclassifying (i.e., downlisting) the American burying beetle (“ABB”) from endangered to threatened on the Endangered Species Act...more
This is Part 4 in a five-part series addressing the latest changes in legal standards regulating water resources in the United States. Part 4 addresses the fallout from recent decisions in a lawsuit over the Keystone XL...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a proposed rule on January 30, 2020, that narrowly interprets the protections afforded by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The new rule would provide that the MBTA prohibits only the...more
The Center for Biological Diversity (“CBD”) sent a July 25th 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue (“Notice”) to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) alleging a violation of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). ...more
Federal Appeals Court Vacates Key Atlantic Coast Pipeline Permit - "A federal appeals court has pulled another permit issued to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, saying the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had fast-tracked the...more
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) issued an August 14th Federal Register Notice asking for public comment on federally listed American burying-beetle incidental take permit applications. See 83 Fed. Reg....more
Within the past few weeks, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has issued some very significant rulings regarding the construction of new natural gas pipelines. ...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a guidance memorandum addressing when an incidental take permit may be needed under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act for projects that modify habitat of federally...more
On April 11, 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued a Memorandum titled “Guidance on the recent M-Opinion affecting the Migratory Bird Treaty Act” (the “Memorandum”), giving field advice to its enforcement...more
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) issued a December 5th Federal Register Notice asking for public comment on federally listed American burying-beetle incidental take permit applications. See 82 Fed. Reg....more
Report on the agencies’ review of programs provides a roadmap to understanding which energy policies the Trump administration will revise. Several federal agencies have now issued reports responding to Executive Order (EO)...more
On October 25, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) released a report entitled “Review of the Department of the Interior Actions that Potentially Burden Domestic Energy” identifying agency actions that potentially...more
Secretary of the Interior Zinke has directed that the Bureau of Land Management immediately begin implementing the recommendations in his Sage-Grouse Review Team’s report, which was was released today, concerning the 2015...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - Reversing course, EPA will not delay an Obama ozone rule - Washington Post - Aug 3 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reversed its effort to delay Obama...more
On March 1, the oil and gas industry won a significant victory when the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s (“FWS”) decision that conservation agreements supported by the industry...more