Earlier this summer, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals issued a decision affirming the lower court’s decision that the Mining Law of 1872 does not impose a limit on the number of mill sites that a mining claimant may...more
In May 2024, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM or the Agency) issued a final rule updating its renewable energy and right-of-way (ROW) policies. BLM is one of the largest landholders in the United States, with significant...more
La Agencia Nacional de Minería (ANM) de Colombia emitió la Resolución No. 371 el 6 de junio de 2024, en la cual se establecen las condiciones y la periodicidad para el reporte de información por parte de los titulares mineros...more
The Interior Department, EPA and Department of Energy (DOE) announced updated equity plans in February 2024. The three updates respond to President Biden’s 2023 Executive Order and the Administration’s initiative to advance...more
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has finalized two rules to further prioritize the health of public lands and facilitate renewable energy leases: the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule and the Rights-of-Way, Leasing,...more
Last month, I posted about a lawsuit brought by a Boston citizens group, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy. The group was seeking to enjoin the City of Boston and other parties from moving forward with a Project to upgrade and...more
This article is part of Womble Bond Dickinson’s Energy & Natural Resources thought leadership series titled Striking the Balance: Permitting Reforms for Mining and the Energy Transition. In this series, we’ll explore the...more
On 28 February 2024, Paul Chan, the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, delivered the 2024-25 Budget (the “Budget”). Starting off by acknowledging the “challenging external environment” including “heightened geopolitical...more
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced on January 17, 2024, the publication of its draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to help streamline and accelerate utility-scale solar energy development...more
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced an update to its 2012 plan for solar power development in the western U.S., adding five states to the original six. The original plan identified prime areas for solar development...more
In the Fall of 2023, the Interagency Working Group on Mining Laws, Regulations, and Permitting (“IWG”) released its final report containing recommendations to reform how mining is conducted on public lands (the “Final...more
We previously published a legal alert on October 12, 2023, about the extensive housing package that Governor Gavin Newsom signed on October 11, 2023, consisting of 56 bills to help address California’s decades-in-the-making...more
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the advancement of 15 new renewable energy projects in the western U.S., including a 500 MW photovoltaic facility in Riverside County, which was fully operational Friday, as well as...more
A coalition of 18 Democratic AGs filed a comment letter in support of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) notice of proposed rulemaking revising its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act...more
The Law of Taking was Fishy - If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. But what if a man has the right to sell fish, and he builds his business...more
The Biden administration on June 15 announced a proposed new rule that would aim to speed the development of renewable energy on public lands. The rule would cut fees for solar and wind development on public lands by 80%,...more
Rule would have significant new implications for traditional multiple-use management and conservation uses of public land. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently unveiled its proposed Conservation and Landscape...more
On April 3, 2023, the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) published a proposed rule to promote the conservation of the 245 million acres of public lands it manages. The proposal purports to advance “BLM’s mission to manage the...more
On March 28, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law Senate Bill 102 (“Live Local Act” or the “Act”). The Act is a multifaceted law that supports the development of affordable housing in Florida by expanding and creating...more
The Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") announced a sweeping proposed rule that would change how public lands are managed by the federal government. On April 3, 2023, BLM published a proposed rule to promote the...more
The U.S. Interior Department last Thursday proposed a new program that would allow it to offer leases of public land for conservation purposes, in much the same way as it currently offers acreage for drilling, mining, and...more
Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law Senate Bill 102 (“Live Local Act” or the “Act”) on March 28, 2023. The majority of the Live Local Act will go into effect on July 1, 2023, with certain provisions pertaining to tax...more
On February 10, 2023, the Public Land Preservation Act (PLPA), Chapter 274 of the Acts of 2022, (M.G.L. Ch. 3 §5A), went into effect. It both codifies existing practices and creates new obligations that public entities in the...more
Mediante la Resolución No. 0136 del 17 de febrero de 2023, el Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (MADS) de Colombia amplió el área del Parque Nacional Natural Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a través de la inclusión...more
BB&K’s New Law Guidance for a Well-Informed Start to 2023 - In Part Six of our “In With the New” series, Best Best & Krieger LLP covers important new legislation related to environmental matters, housing and public...more