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
Linear infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines and transportation, have faced a number of regulatory challenges over the last year. Some of these challenges stem from changes in...more
The secretary of the interior issued two Secretarial Orders on April 16, 2021, that provide early indications of the Biden administration’s approach to the environmental review process for infrastructure projects under the...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
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
Linear infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines and transportation, have faced a number of regulatory challenges in recent months. Some of these challenges stem from changes in...more
The EO directs federal agencies to invoke available emergency powers to expedite environmental review and permitting of infrastructure projects. A recent Executive Order by President Trump directs agencies to expedite...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
Pressing ahead on his efforts to reduce delays in federal approvals necessary for major infrastructure projects, President Donald Trump on June 4 called for more streamlining in another executive order, Accelerating the...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 January 9, 2020, in one of the more significant environmental proposals of the current administration, President Trump’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed updates to its regulations for implementing the...more
On January 10, 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed amendments to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations. The Proposed Rule would represent the first significant overhaul of...more
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), a division of the Executive Office of the President, today published in the Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would make significant changes to its regulations...more
As the 50th Anniversary of the National Environmental Policy Act approaches, we may be on the verge of one of the most significant regulatory revisions in the statute’s history. NEPA advocates—and all those who believe it is...more
The United States Department of Transportation (“DOT”) published an August 23rd Federal Register Notice announcing the availability of two interim policies for public comment. See 84 Fed. Reg. 44351. ...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
On February 26, 2019, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a joint memorandum (Memo) clarifying how state transportation departments that have been delegated...more
The Utah coal industry has benefited from recent reforms in federal coal leasing, permitting and streamlining of environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). During the previous administration,...more
The White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) announced on June 20, 2018 that it is considering updating its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Specifically, the CEQ issued an...more
• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has unanimously voted to open a new Notice of Inquiry seeking input on whether – and, if so, how – it should update its existing policies and procedures for reviewing and issuing...more
On April 9, 2018, the heads of numerous federal agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding Implementing One Federal Decision Under Executive Order 13807 (“MOU”) aimed at expediting and coordinating environmental review of...more
On April 9, 2018, the heads of twelve Federal agencies and departments entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) committing their respective agencies to implement certain concepts and directives from Executive Order...more