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Small Bat, Big Implications: USFWS to ‎Uplist Northern Long-Eared Bat From Threatened to ‎Endangered

In today’s Federal Register, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) published a proposed rule under the federal Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) to reclassify the northern long-eared bat (“NLEB”) from “threatened” status...more

Congress May Not Build Back Better, ‎but DOE Plans to Build a Better Grid

Although President Biden’s “Build Back Better” legislation faces daunting challenges in the Senate, the Administration continues to use the executive branch to push its clean energy agenda forward. Earlier this week, we...more

New York Bight Auction Represents ‎Next Step for Offshore Wind, but Headwinds Remain

On January 12, 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) announced its first ‎offshore-lease auction in over three years. The auction will take place on February 23, and will award ‎leases for over 488,000 acres in...more

Offshore Wind Closes 2021 Strong, ‎Further Growth Expected in 2022

In 2021, the demand for offshore wind in the United States grew significantly. With the recent announcements from Massachusetts and Maryland, over 8,400 MW of offshore wind power was procured last year. This sets a new record...more

A New Season of WOTUS: Court ‎Vacates Trump-Era Navigable Waters Protection Rule

A new season of the regulatory drama “WOTUS” dropped last week. On August 30, a federal court in Arizona granted EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) (collectively, the “Agencies”) request to remand their 2020...more

“[FERC] Cannot Sit Idly by”: FERC Proposes to Fundamentally Reimagine Transmission ‎and Generation Interconnection Planning and...

On July 15, 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) unanimously issued a wide-ranging advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (“ANOPR”), raising numerous proposals to consider revamping how...more

Back to the Future: EPA and Corps of Engineers Announce Intent to Restore Previous ‎Definition of WOTUS

On June 9, 2021, the U.S. EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (collectively, the “Agencies”) jointly announced their intention to revisit and revise the definition of “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS). The definition of WOTUS...more

Playing Chicken: What USFWS’ Proposed Listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken Means for Energy Companies

On May 24, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released a proposed rule to list two distinct population segments (DPS) of the lesser prairie chicken (LEPC) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). If the listing...more

Offshore Win(d): D.C. Circuit Dismisses Challenge to BOEM Leasing Program

On May 20, 2021, the D.C. Circuit affirmed a U.S. District Court ruling dismissing an appeal brought by the Fisheries Survival Fund, Garden State Seafood Association and seaside municipalities (“Appellants”) challenging the...more

Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes to Restore Incidental Take Prohibition Under Migratory Bird ‎Treaty Act – What You Need to Know

On May 7, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS” or “Service”) published a proposed rule that would restore the traditional interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”) as prohibiting incidental take...more

Biden’s American Jobs Plan Prioritizes Renewable Infrastructure Investment Opportunities

The American Jobs Plan and Made in America Tax Plan (the “Plan”), announced by the Biden Administration on March 31, 2021, place heavy emphasis on renewable energy, electrical grid improvements, and climate change-related...more

What the Biden Administration Offshore Wind Proposal Could Mean for New York ‎Offshore Wind

On March 29, the Biden Administration issued a proposal to significantly boost U.S. investment in offshore wind energy. In addition to several funding mechanisms, the Administration proposed to designate a significant...more

Winds of Change:‎ Biden Administration Releases Plan to Accelerate Offshore Wind Energy

On March 29, the Biden Administration unveiled the broad strokes of a comprehensive, multi-agency plan to “accelerate and deploy offshore wind energy and jobs” in furtherance of President Biden’s twin priorities of fighting...more

New York Issues Final Renewable Energy Siting Regulations to Streamline Permitting

On April 3, 2020, New York State announced the passage of the Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act (“Act”). The Act established a new Office of Renewable Energy Siting (“ORES”) within the NY...more

The Regulatory Resurrection of M-37050:‎ Interior Rule Limits the MBTA Again, But Likely Not for Long

On January 7, the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) published a final rule codifying its previously announced interpretation that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”) applies only to intentional acts directed at migratory...more

Trump Administration’s MBTA M-Opinion Vacated: What You Need to Know

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”) was first adopted in 1918, and for most of its existence the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) interpreted it to prohibit any taking or killing of migratory birds, intentional or not. ...more

Supreme Court Reinstates NWP 12 for Pipelines, But 1 Out of 3 Ain’t Good

In a busy few days for the pipeline industry, the Supreme Court provided sorely needed relief by issuing a stay of the Montana District Court’s order vacating Nationwide Permit (NWP) 12 for the oil and gas industry. While...more

Court Narrows Nationwide Permit 12 Ruling: Relief for Renewables, But More Pain for Pipelines

In a hotly anticipated ruling on May 11, the federal district court that just a few weeks ago stunned and stalled a wide range of industries by vacating the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (“Corps”) Nationwide Permit (“NWP”)...more

President Trump Issues Executive Order Restricting Access to Components Used for Electric Generation, Transmission and Storage

On May 1, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order that prohibits the acquisition or installation in the United States of certain electrical equipment originating in countries designated as “foreign adversaries.” The...more

At the Corps of it All: Navigable Waters Protection Rule Published on Heels of NWP 12 Vacatur

On April 21, less than a week after a federal district court in Montana vacated Nationwide Permit (“NWP”) 12, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) published the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (“NWPR”). The...more

USACE Nationwide Permit 12 Vacated: What You Need to Know

On April 15, in a case challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (“Corps”) Nationwide Permit (“NWP”) 12, a federal court in the District of Montana determined that the Corps’ 2017 reissuance of NWP 12 was arbitrary and...more

“Threatened” Listing for Northern Long-Eared Bats Endangered by District Court Decision: What You Need to Know

On January 28, the D.C. District Court issued a significant decision in litigation brought by a group of environmental organizations challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (“FWS”) 2015 listing of the northern...more

A NEW WOTUS FROM POTUS: Trump Administration Releases Highly Anticipated Replacement for Controversial “Waters of the U.S.” Rule

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

USFWS Guidance Implementing Solicitor’s M-Opinion Finally Grounds the Migratory Bird Treaty Act

On December 22, 2017 the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (“DOI”) Office of the Solicitor issued Memorandum M-370501 (the “M-Opinion”) interpreting the take prohibition of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act2 (“MBTA”) to apply...more

Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Listing Begins to Sting

On April 17, 2017, a federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois granted a temporary restraining order halting construction of a six-mile stretch of highway in suburban Chicago in response to allegations by project...more

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