The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to reconsider the Chevron doctrine, which instructs courts to defer to a federal agency’s reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute that US Congress delegated to the...more
On Thursday, October 12, 2023, Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted summary judgment in favor of the United States Department of the Interior and Vineyard Wind, and denied...more
Early next year, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a pair of cases, which could overrule the Chevron doctrine and thereby end nearly forty years of judicial deference to federal administrative agencies’...more
The “Major Questions Doctrine” (MQD) has been the breakout star of the last two terms at the US Supreme Court. Earlier this month, the Fourth Circuit used MQD in upholding the dismissal of a nongovernmental organization’s...more
This week, in North Carolina Coastal Fisheries Reform Group, et al., v. Capt. Gaston LLC, a three judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a District Court Judge that when shrimpers use nets to catch...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case challenging its landmark 1984 decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. The high court’s ruling could have important implications on federal officials’...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case in which the petitioners are challenging the continued viability of the Chevron framework that courts typically invoke when reviewing a federal agency’s interpretation of a...more
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a group of New Jersey herring fishers’ challenge to a long-standing key administrative law doctrine—the “Chevron doctrine.” It could be the next term’s most consequential case. The Chevron...more
On November 16, 2021, the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion reversing a district court’s order enjoining the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) rule that barred the use of lobster traps with traditional...more
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted a proposed amendment – Amendment 21 – to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for review and...more
On December 31, 2020, the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) proposed to amend regulations implementing the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (“ALWTRP” or “Plan”) with the stated goal of reducing the...more
In the wake of the Fifth Circuit’s August 2, 2020 decision holding that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) lacked authority to regulate aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico, the “Advancing the Quality and Understanding...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) does not have the authority to regulate aquaculture under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and...more
On August 3, 2020, the Fifth Circuit in a 2-1 split decision held that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) cannot regulate aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and...more
On November 1, 2019, Chad Ponce of Jacksonville, Florida pleaded guilty to killing a smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), an endangered species protected under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Florida...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
On August 9, 2017, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a 12-month finding on a petition to list the Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species...more
NEW REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS - Federal - Final 2014 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan and 2014 Annual Effluent Guidelines Review Report EPA is announcing the availability of its Final 2014 Effluent Guidelines...more
On July 23, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision upholding restrictions on commercial fishing in Alaska to protect the western Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of the Steller...more