Recent Updates to Federal Environmental and Natural Resource Regulations
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
On June 22, 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) and National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) (collectively, “the Services”) published three proposed rules related to implementation of the Endangered Species Act...more
On September 21, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) stayed a July 5, 2022 order of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (District Court) vacating several...more
On July 5, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order vacating three Trump-era regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”)....more
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
A group of 14 Democratic AGs, led by California AG Rob Bonta, Maryland AG Brian Frosh, and Massachusetts AG Maura Healey, filed a comment letter with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries...more
On October 27, 2021, the Biden administration proposed two new rules to roll back its predecessor’s regulatory clarifications involving habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Under the first proposal, the United...more
Earlier this month, the Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) published a final rule revoking the Trump Administration’s rule on incidental take under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”), as well as an advanced notice of...more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published its final rule for the Reissuance and Modification of Nationwide Permits in the waning days of the Trump Administration. The final rule reissues and modifies 12 existing nationwide...more
JANUARY 2020 - FEDERAL APPELLATE COURTS - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - El Paso County, Texas, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al. On January 8, 2020, a divided panel of the court quickly granted a...more
On 7 January 2021, the Trump administration finalized a new rule that limits the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA or the Act). Under the new rule (which President Biden has already directed the Department of the...more
News stories and campaign rhetoric frequently create expectations of immediate shifts following an administration change, but most changes in the federal government happen slowly, and the constraint on resources and time...more
On November 3, 2020, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (“Service”) published a final rule removing the gray wolf (canis lupus) from the federal list of Endangered and Threatened Species in the lower 48 United States...more
President-elect Biden will assume office in January, 2021, with a divided nation, the global coronavirus pandemic, and a domestic energy market in a distressed state. The new administration will need to oversee the management...more
On September 15, 2020, the Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) released a notice of proposed rulemaking to modify and reissue its existing Nationwide Permits (“NWPs”) and is accepting public comments through November 16, 2020....more
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service ("Service") recently released a pre-publication version of its final rule to reclassify the American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) from endangered to threatened under the...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
On August 19, 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a proposed rule that would remove the Stephens’ kangaroo rat (Dipodomys stephensi) from the federal list of Endangered Species....more
Two recent executive orders (“EOs”) issued by President Trump require additional efforts by federal agencies to facilitate regulatory reform and to expedite infrastructure projects, relying greatly on emergency and special...more
On June 4, 2020, President Trump signed an executive order to provide federal agencies the foundation to speed up environmental permitting in the wake of COVID-19. ...more
The Trump administration issued two executive orders (EOs) in the past month seeking to encourage economic development through regulatory reform and relief as the United States navigates the reopening of business and...more
On June 4, 2020 President Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Accelerating the Nation’s Economic Recovery from the COVID-19 Emergency by Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities,” allowing—and, in fact,...more
On Thursday, June 4, 2020, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) on “Accelerating the Nation’s Economic Recovery from the COVID-19 Emergency by Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities.” Relying on...more
Our Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources Group reviews the practical regulatory impact of President Trump’s Executive Order allowing agencies to use emergency authority to bypass environmental regulations....more
On June 4, 2020, President Trump signed an executive order instructing his administration to use any applicable “emergency authorities” to waive requirements within certain environmental laws in order to facilitate permitting...more
Based on research from law professors at Harvard and Columbia, the New York Times reported this month that the Trump administration has reversed, or is in the process of reversing, almost 100 federal environmental...more