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Just two months into President Trump’s second term, project applicants are navigating a series of changes to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 permitting. Upon his inauguration, President...more
The Army Corps of Engineers has identified over 600 energy and other infrastructure projects that could be fast-tracked under President Donald Trump’s National Energy Emergency declaration, according to a Reuters review of...more
President Trump concluded that the integrity and expansion of the energy infrastructure of the United States is an immediate priority for the nation's economic and national security....more
Pursuant to Executive Order 14156, the United States Army Corp of Engineers (“Corps”) has reclassified 690 Clean Water Act Section 404 Wetland Permits as Emergency Actions. Executive Order 14156 is entitled “Declaring a...more
On January 24, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14181 (“EO 14181”), entitled “Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas.” While alluding to...more
On President Trump’s first and second days in office, the new administration released a flurry of executive actions, in the form of both memorandums and executive orders, focused on the energy industry:...more
When you find yourself digging the same hole and getting nowhere, quit digging. At least, that is what rational logic would dictate. On December 30, 2022, the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (collectively,...more
On March 24, 2022, the Department of the Army and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) (collectively “Army”) announced their intent to publish a Notice (the “Notice”) in the Federal Register initiating a formal review...more
An Arizona district court decision right before Labor Day effectively put the pre-2015 wetlands jurisdiction rule back in effect for most states, eliminating changes made under both the Obama and Trump administrations. (See...more
In What About Bob, a movie worth seeing only if you, like me, think every film including Bill Murray is worth seeing, the fictional guru Dr. Leo Marvin wrote a book called "Baby Steps." The theme of "Baby Steps" is that no...more
Last week, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals affirmed vacatur of the easement issued to the Dakota Access Pipeline by the Army Corps of Engineers. As I noted last month in connection with the Biden Executive Order...more
It’s been a difficult several days for the oil industry. First, the Biden administration revoked the border-crossing permit for the Keystone XL pipeline on January 20. Another executive order, among other things, directed the...more
On September 15, 2020, the Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) released a notice of proposed rulemaking to modify and reissue its existing Nationwide Permits (“NWPs”) and is accepting public comments through November 16, 2020....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
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 January 23, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) finalized the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (Rule) to define “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). ...more
It’s well-known that the Trump administration has sought policies of deregulation over the past several years. The administration places emphasis on proper enforcement of existing rules and regulations as a means of achieving...more
The US Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers’ joint proposed definition of “waters of the United States” would eliminate the regulation of waters with a “significant nexus” to certain other covered...more
On December 11, 2018, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule to revise the definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in a manner that would...more
In order to solicit input on a proposed regulatory change, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has issued a supplemental notice seeking comment for the revised “waters of the United States” rule (also known as the...more
Effective yesterday, April 10, 2018, seven executive departments, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have agreed to cooperate for the timely...more
It is becoming increasingly difficult for the regulated community to stay abreast of state and federal environmental regulatory developments, particularly as they are decided in court. The following alert summarizes some...more
I often joke with my clients that following issues too closely at the federal level can result in whiplash. To that regard, it has been a very active summer in Washington, DC on the water infrastructure front. Here’s a rapid...more
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the federal district courts can hear challenges to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 2015 Clean Water Rule, rejecting the federal...more
The Association of State Wetland Managers (“ASWM”) submitted November 28th comments on the Clean Water Act definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”). The November 28th comments were submitted in response to the...more