Over the past year, federal agencies have been reshaping their procedures for environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in response to several major legal developments....more
The Department of the Interior (DOI) has finalized a sweeping revision of its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), marking one of the most significant changes to DOI’s environmental review...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) proposed revisions to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations that, if finalized, will generally...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published four proposed rules in the Federal Register on Nov. 21, 2025 – two of which are jointly proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) – that aim to restore much of...more
The D.C. Circuit issued its first precedential opinion interpreting the recent Supreme Court decision Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, 145 S. Ct. 1497 (2025)....more
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) issued a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) on July 28, 2025, directing NRC staff to proceed with rulemaking to implement the National Environmental Policy Act...more
The past month brought a flurry of updates from federal agencies publishing new procedures to implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), following President Trump’s Executive Order 14154 (EO 14154) in January...more
The Commission recently issued a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) directing NRC Staff to revise the NRC’s National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) regulations at 10 CFR Part 51 and update related NRC guidance and...more
In Sierra Club v. FERC, No. 24-1199 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 1, 2025), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of a 1,000-foot...more
There have been more changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) and its implementing regulations in the past nine months than perhaps at any point since NEPA was signed into law by President Nixon on January 1,...more
Within this term, the US Supreme Court’s major environmental and administrative focus was on statutory text in its environmental and administrative decisions....more
On May 29, 2025, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition et al. v. Eagle County, Colorado et al. This decision held that agencies are afforded substantial deference in National...more
On July 3, 2025, several federal agencies published Interim Final Rules or Final Rules freeing themselves of legally and statutorily conflicting regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in...more
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a federal statute that outlines how federal agencies must review the environmental impacts of their regulatory actions. The regulated community has often viewed NEPA as an...more
A "Course Correction" of NEPA Review - In an 8-0 judgment, the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that had vacated the U.S. Surface Transportation Board’s (the “Board”)...more
On May 29, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, clarifying the standards for judicial review of challenges to agency action under the National Environmental Policy Act...more
On June 11, the Supreme Court issued a major decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado that could reshape how infrastructure projects are reviewed, approved, and challenged under the National...more
In a unanimous decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County (No. 23-975), the US Supreme Court significantly narrowed the scope of environmental reviews required under the National Environmental Policy...more
On May 29, 2025, the Supreme Court—minus recused Justice Neil Gorsuch—decided Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, the first major NEPA dispute before the Court in 20 years. It’s a really big deal—coverage...more
On May 29, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, a case concerning the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that limits judicial review of...more
On May 29, 2025, in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado (2025) 605 U.S. ____, the Supreme Court gave instruction that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) “is a procedural cross-check, not...more
On 29 May 2025, the Supreme Court unanimously declared that a “course correction” was needed for cases under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), holding that a law originally meant to be a procedural check to inform...more
In a much-anticipated decision, the U.S. Supreme Court made a major “course correction” to the law governing federal environmental reviews and permitting decisions for infrastructure and other projects under the National...more
Seven County Infrastructure Coalition et al. v. Eagle County, Colorado, et al. The U.S. Supreme Court recently clarified the scope of federal agency review requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”)...more
Last week, the Supreme Court issued its eagerly awaited National Environmental Policy Act decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County. We were not disappointed. ...more