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
The project to replace the Interstate 5 bridge between Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, is becoming more reality than dream. For those who have traveled that stretch of I-5, or moved goods from the Ports or...more
United States District Judge James M. Moody (“Court”) addressed in a September 3rd Order a July 10th Motion filed by Plaintiffs seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction (“Motion”) to prohibit commencement of: . . ....more
Several individuals and community/neighborhood organizations filed a July 10th Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary and Permanent Injunction (“Motion”) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas...more
The Trump administration proposed rules intended to speed up approval of major projects subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), such as pipelines, power facilities, mines, highways, and other public...more
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (Little Rock District) (“Corps”) issued an August 22nd Public Notice (“Notice”) referencing a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit application that had been submitted by the Arkansas...more
Several individuals and various community/neighborhood organizations filed a May 20th Complaint for Declaratory Judgment and for Preliminary and Permanent Injunctive Relief in the United States District Court for the Eastern...more
As noted in the previous post (see post here), five individuals filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas on July 18th addressing what they describe as construction involving the...more
Five individuals filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas on July 18th addressing what they describe as construction involving the widening of Interstate Highway 630 (“I-630...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit addressed in a June 5th opinion whether a proposed Wisconsin highway repaving project (“Project”) should have gone through the National Environmental Policy Act...more
On December 8, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected two challenges to the 20-mile South Mountain Freeway Project in Phoenix, Arizona. The decision is the latest in a series of court decisions...more
For the second time, a judge has sided with Best Best & Krieger LLP environmental attorneys in a dispute over a freeway infrastructure project in Riverside County. A CEQA challenge to the project was dismissed by a Riverside...more
In a decision of national importance to the transportation community, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona rejected National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) challenges and Section 4(f) challenges to the 22-mile...more
While it may go down as a classic case of “bad facts making bad law,” last week’s ruling rejecting the government’s NEPA analysis for the controversial Illiana Expressway is the just the latest in a disturbing trend for large...more
The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies (“TRB”) has released its second volume of guidance addressing risks in project delivery, including risks associated with the National Environmental Policy Act...more
In This Issue: - AUTHOR'S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS - GUIDANCE FOR MANAGING LEGAL RISKS IN THE NEPA PROCESS ..Early Identification and Assessment of Legal Risks ..Methods for Managing Legal Risks ..Legal Risk...more
On July 6, 2012 President Obama signed into law MAP-21, which, among other things, contained new National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") requirements for the Federal Transit Administration ("FTA") and Federal Highway...more
On August 30, 2013, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) proposed regulations for the Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program, a program that allows states to assume federal environmental review authority for...more
Last week the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) conducted a two-day industry workshop at the Golden Nugget Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, for Project Neon, a freeway improvement project on the west side of...more
This Friday, President Obama will visit the Port of Miami. On July 19, 2012, President Obama put the Port of Miami on his “We Can’t Wait” list of expedited infrastructure projects to instruct the Army Corps of Engineers to...more
On January 14, 2013, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued guidance on Section 1319 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), Pub. L. 112-141, July...more