In what it called “the greatest and most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its most expansive deregulatory initiative to date on March 12, 2025. Through a...more
4/7/2025
/ Air Pollution ,
Automotive Industry ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Deregulation ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform
The executive order aims to expedite energy projects, boost domestic production, and strengthen U.S. energy independence through streamlined regulatory reforms. On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued the “Declaring a...more
1/31/2025
/ Defense Production Act ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Infrastructure ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
It is already early in 2022, but several important environmental cases have already been decided by the federal district and federal appellate courts. THE COURTS OF APPEAL - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ...more
What follows is a brief account of some of the notable U.S. environmental and administrative law cases recently decided. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT - Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution vests the President, with the advice...more
6/23/2021
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Alien Tort Statute ,
Building Permits ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Erosion ,
Homeowners ,
Misbranding ,
Oil & Gas ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Railways ,
SCOTUS ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
United States v Arthrex Inc ,
Workplace Safety
The last few weeks have yielded a number of interesting developments in the Federal courts. FEDERAL COURTS OF APPEAL - In re Flint Water Cases - Several local and State of Michigan officials, including the former governor,...more
Here’s a report on several new decisions made over the past few days. U.S. SUPREME COURT - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. Northern Plains Resources Council - On July 8, 2020, the Court has issued a partial stay of the...more
Decision creates difficult permitting challenges for oil and gas pipelines crossing jurisdictional waters.
Oil and gas pipelines continue to face difficult permitting challenges as Ninth Circuit declines to revive vacated...more
6/5/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Construction Industry ,
Dakota Access Pipeline ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Keystone XL Pipeline ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Nationwide Permits (NWPs) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
SCOTUS ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On February 24, 2020, the Supreme Court heard the oral arguments in the case of U.S. Forest Service, et al. v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association, et al....more
On August 13, 2019, in a case that may have an impact on the leasing of federal lands for energy development in the future, the U.S. District Court for the Missoula, Montana Division, issued a ruling in the case of Western...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit decided the case of Allegheny Defense Project, et al. v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on August 2, 2019. ...more
In just the past few weeks, three states have used their Clean Water Act 401 authority to delay, for an indefinite period, FERC-authorized pipeline expansion projects....more
Federal Courts of Appeal -
Dam Claims Collapse -
On May 7, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided the case of Navelski, et al. v. International Paper Company....more
After much study, EPA has decided against changing its current RCRA Subtitle D rules affecting the state regulation of oil and gas exploration & production waste. ...more
On March 29, the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska issued two separate rulings that reversed and set aside energy and environmental decisions made by the current administration, which had revoked decisions made...more
On February 28, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), “in consultation with the Federal Railroad Administration and pursuant to the Fixing America’s Surface...more
On January 14, the Colorado Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion that the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (Commission) properly declined to undertake a rulemaking proceeding that was designed to preclude the...more
On October 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit decided the case of Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co., LLC v. Permanent Easements for 2.14 Acres, et al. , affirming the District Court’s grant of a preliminary...more
Within the past few weeks, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has issued some very significant rulings regarding the construction of new natural gas pipelines. ...more
8/9/2018
/ Bureau of Land Management ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
FERC ,
Natural Gas ,
Natural Gas Act ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On July 19, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York decided the case of City of New York v. BP P.L.C., et al., granting the defendants’ motion to dismiss and dismissing the City of New York’s amended...more
On July 10, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decided another Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) case, Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Maya Van Rossum v. FERC....more
On June 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided the case of Center for Biological Diversity, et al., v. Export-Import Bank of the U.S., affirming the ruling of the District Court, which granted...more
On March 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit decided an important oil spill cost recovery case: In re Petition of Frescati Shipping Co., Ltd. v. Citgo Asphalt Refining Co., et al. It is a case concerning the...more
On March 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision interpreting Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 and the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission’s (FERC) permitting authority, which may have settled...more
On February 27, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana granted a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by a group of environmental plaintiffs seeking to halt the construction of an oil pipeline in...more
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in In re United States of America. As summarized by the Ninth Circuit, “twenty one young plaintiffs” filed a complaint in the Portland, OR federal...more