Recent Updates to Federal Environmental and Natural Resource Regulations
On-Demand Webinar | Regulatory Uncertainty and Linear Infrastructure Projects: Where Are We and What’s Ahead?
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
On-Demand Webinar | The New NEPA Regulations: A Practical Guide to What You Need to Know
How Trump's Infrastructure Plan Impacts the Energy Industry
Environmental Justice: 2023 Year in Review and 2024 Look-Ahead - As a concept, Environmental Justice, or EJ, has been around for more than 40 years. Beginning as a slogan at protests in Warren County, NC in 1982, EJ...more
If “Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” It’s been a quiet term thus far for the Supreme Court, due in part to the hearing of oral arguments in many contentious cases. Below is a brief summary of some of the recent...more
These days, environmental policy is often established indirectly. While “Schoolhouse Rock” may have taught some of us “How a Bill Becomes a Law,” its insights are less relevant in the current era where things like purportedly...more
This alert looks at developments in environmental law that were at the forefront in 2022; the trend is expected to continue into 2023 as the Biden administration continues to act on its regulatory initiatives in the energy...more
Emphasis on Environmental Justice and Climate Change - The EPA's draft Strategic Plan provides the key to understanding the agency's priority goals and initiatives, including Climate Change and Environmental Justice...more
Environmental justice moved to the forefront of sociopolitical discussions in the country in 2020, receiving increased attention from politicians, community groups, and environmental agencies. Although this concept is not...more
EPA and OMB issue directives and propose an initial budget for the Biden Administration’s EJ initiatives - With the Biden Administration’s appointees now in place, environmental justice (EJ) is moving to the forefront of...more
The swearing-in of Michael Regan as EPA Administrator means that open questions on policy, agenda-setting, and prioritization for the Agency will soon be answered. Issues that have risen to the top of the new EPA...more
Right out of the box, the Biden Administration took a decisive stance on the importance of climate costs in agency decision making, returning to Obama-era metrics and values. On his first day in office, President Biden issued...more
Consistent with former administrations, the Biden administration took early actions to halt or review administrative regulations. One of the earlies administrative actions taken by the Biden administration was to freeze...more
During yesterday’s Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing, President Biden’s nominees for Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Brenda Mallory, and for Deputy Administrator the...more
With the arrival of a new US presidential administration, companies are anticipating potential shifts in enforcement priorities by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the areas of climate change, the National...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
With the 2020 election now called, though yet to be conceded, questions abound as to what the environmental regulatory landscape may look like under a Biden/Harris administration. For California, we don’t expect much of a...more
Climate Change Regulatory Issues & Updates - Trump Administration Plans Overhaul of NEPA Review Process The proposed rule changes would considerably limit the scope of environmental reviews of planned energy and...more
Governor Newsom proposes new plan for San Joaquin River Delta - Governor Gavin Newsom revealed a novel approach Tuesday to managing the San Joaquin River Delta that would keep more water in the fragile delta while restoring...more
The Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) on January 10th published a Federal Register Notice promulgating for the first time in 40 years revisions to the regulations that implement the National Environmental Policy Act...more
This is the inaugural issue of WilmerHale’s 10-in-10 Hot Topics in Energy Series. Over the next 10 weeks, our attorneys will share insights on current and emerging issues affecting the US energy sector....more
President Trump is spearheading a government-wide roll back of Obama Era climate initiatives. The president and his EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, have delivered a one-two punch. They both have denied the impact of human...more
While the Trump Administration has struggled overall to develop and implement coherent policies, the Administration has had some success in the environmental sphere. Through a series of presidential memoranda, executive...more
Sutherland attorneys are closely watching the developments concerning changes to environmental regulation under President Trump. This article begins a series of communications with our clients on developments of particular...more
On August 15, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision granting summary judgment to the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) on the issue...more
Ninth Circuit Affirms District Court’s Decision Approving NEPA and Clean Air Act Review of Federal QSA - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued its decision on the federal case challenging...more