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On September 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued an opinion in Save the Colorado, et al. v. Spellmon. The case arose from various conservation group challenges to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...more
On December 10, 2021, the Biden Administration released the Fall 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda), which is a semi-annual compilation of information concerning regulations and policy...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
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 January 20, 2021, President Biden announced his administration will review regulatory actions taken between January 17, 2020 and January 20, 2021 in accordance with an Executive Order titled “Protecting Public Health and...more
Changes in Definitions Section May Create Clarity for Agencies, Ammunition for Opponents - This is the first in a series of eAlerts on revisions to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations published in the...more
On June 17, 2020, a federal court in Colorado vacated an incidental take permit (ITP) issued to the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) authorizing take of the endangered American burying beetle (ABB) that could occur in...more
A United States District Court (Montana) (“Court”) addressed in an April 15th decision a challenge to the United States Corps of Engineers’ (“Corps”) issuance of Clean Water Act Nationwide Permit (“NWP”) 12 (Utility Line...more
The greater sage-grouse is a chicken-like bird that is currently found in 11 western states. For more than 25 years, there has been considerable controversy concerning whether to list the greater sage-grouse for protection...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
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Court”) addressed in a June 4th Order whether the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) and the United States Forest Service (“USFS”) approval of the...more
On November 4, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina granted summary judgment in favor of conservation organizations Red Wolf Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife, and Animal Welfare Institute...more
The Trump Administration issued a document on October 19th titled: Presidential Memorandum on Promoting the Reliable Supply and Delivery of Water in the West (“Memorandum”)...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
Late last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service withdrew two environmental policies adopted in late 2016 by the Obama administration that address mitigation for impacts to natural resources. These two policies established...more
On the heels of its notice of federal rulemaking under the National Environmental Policy Act (see our July 2 blog post) and other more modest efforts at reform on the administrative level, the Administration on July 19...more
Another important case was decided by U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on July 6, American Rivers and Alabama Rivers Alliance v. FERC. The Alabama Power Company, whose application to re-license its electrical power...more
Last Friday, the D.C. Circuit torpedoed a hydroelectric license issued in 2013 to Alabama Power Company because the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) “declined to...more
On December 22, 2017 the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (“DOI”) Office of the Solicitor issued Memorandum M-370501 (the “M-Opinion”) interpreting the take prohibition of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act2 (“MBTA”) to apply...more
This article is a follow-up to our January 29, 2018 article which discussed the United States Solicitor’s December 22, 2017 Memorandum Opinion, M-37050 (the “M-Opinion”). To provide a quick recap of that article, the...more
In his January 30, 2018 State of the Union address, the President declared that he had eliminated more regulations in his first year than any other administration’s first year. Part of that claim may arise out of a...more
On December 27, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit partially reversed and remanded a decision by the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, delaying if not derailing an expansion in...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 July 21, 2017, the California Department of Water Resources (“DWR”) certified the final environmental document and issued its Notice of Determination for the California WaterFix, a significant new water infrastructure...more
On May 18, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgment decision in favor of the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and other federal officials in an...more