During the week of July 28, the Trump administration unleashed a new burst of actions aimed squarely at blocking wind and solar energy with the announcement of two new secretarial orders (SO) and three new policies by the...more
8/5/2025
/ Department of the Interior ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Executive Orders ,
Infrastructure ,
NEPA ,
Permits ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
Wind Power
In the past two weeks, six federal permitting agencies — the U.S. Departments of Interior (USDOI), Agriculture (USDA), Energy (DOE), Commerce (DoC), Defense (DoD), and Transportation (USDOT) — withdrew most of their National...more
7/10/2025
/ Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Final Rules ,
Government Agencies ,
NEPA ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
USDA
On July 3, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a final rule revising its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to remove references to the recently rescinded...more
7/10/2025
/ CEQ ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Reform ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
Final Rules ,
Hydropower ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process
On May 29, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado that dramatically changes the way courts scrutinize federal agencies’ environmental reviews under the...more
6/2/2025
/ Chevron Deference ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Infrastructure ,
Judicial Authority ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Railways ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v Eagle County Colorado ,
Statutory Interpretation
On February 19, the White House unveiled an interim final rule (IFR) to rescind all National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations that the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has promulgated since 1977....more
2/21/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Audubon Society ,
CEQ ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Final Rules ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
President Trump hit the ground running, issuing more executive orders, memoranda, and other actions on Inauguration Day than any previous president. Agencies are already working to implement those actions. Many of the actions...more
2/13/2025
/ Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Orders ,
NEPA ,
PFAS ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
Sustainability ,
Trump Administration
This past Monday, the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota issued its ruling in the closely watched case of Iowa v. Council on Envtl. Quality, 1:24-cv-089 (D.N.D. Feb. 3, 2025), vacating the Biden...more
Among President Donald Trump’s directives issued on his first day in office was a Presidential Memorandum targeting wind energy, which has been a significant source of new electricity generation in the United States over the...more
1/23/2025
/ Clean Water Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Reform ,
Executive Orders ,
NEPA ,
Offshore Wind ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
Trump Administration ,
Wind Power
On January 9, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued an Interim Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions and Climate Change (Interim Guidance) “to assist Federal agencies in their...more
On April 20, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a Final Rule, revising certain sections of its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Final Rule represents “Phase 1” of the...more
On June 1, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication version of its proposal to re-write the Clean Water Act Section 401 rule (Certification Proposal), which, if finalized, is expected to have...more
On October 7, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) to revise its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires federal agencies to...more
Environmental justice moved to the forefront of sociopolitical discussions in the country in 2020, receiving increased attention from politicians, community groups, and environmental agencies. Although this concept is not...more
10/1/2021
/ Clean Air Act ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Claims ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
NEPA ,
Permits ,
Pollution Control ,
Public Health
On February 6, U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) introduced a proposal that would attempt to restore northwest salmon populations by breaching four dams managed by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) on the Lower Snake...more
Our lead article this month concerns the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) long-awaited final rule on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The rule introduces sweeping changes to the NEPA regulations, aimed at...more